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Catholic Parish of Edwardstown
A Short Parish History
"My view of our Past" - by Frank Palmer
To fully understand our identity as a Catholic Community, it is necessary to know when the parish originated, what stimulated its growth, and how the parishioners of earlier periods responded and managed the challenges of their time.
Many of our older parishioners will know that the Catholics living in the area now known as the Edwardstown Parish were initially part of the Brighton Parish. The first Mass in the Edwardstown area was celebrated in June 1915, in the local Institute Building . It was not until after a foundation stone was laid, on 18th August 1929, for the erection of a Church Hall on land situated in Castle Street that a permanent Mass Centre was established for the area. This building, which still exists today, located at the side of the present St. Anthony’s Church, is now used as the Parish Hall. The establishment of the Church Hall provided the area not only with a Mass Centre, but also a facility in which to establish a small Catholic School . It is important that we as a community acknowledge that this school was made possible at that time, and for many years after, by the dedication of the Sisters of the Dominican Order. The transition of the Edwardstown area from being part of the Brighton Parish, to becoming a Parish in its own right, was constituted by canon law on 17th October 1937.
At the end of World War II, two significant events occurred in the Edwardstown Parish. First, large sections of vacant land, which had existed in this area up to this time, were converted into housing developments in the form of Trust Homes and Bank Homes. Second, there was an influx into the area of people migrating from war torn Europe . Among these new arrivals were a significant number of Italians, many of whom settled in the Ascot Park area. As not many families owned their own car in this period, most Edwardstown Catholics walked to church, which in the case of those living in the Ascot Park area, was quite a distance.
In 1952, based on the belief that some 600 Catholics living in the area would benefit, the Parish Priest decided to establish a church/school at the Ascot Park end of the parish. In those days the money required to fund such projects was raised by the enthusiastic involvement of the whole parish community. During this period in the life of our parish, parishioners felt a strong sense of involvement with their church and its activities, to a large extent this feeling was stimulated and fostered by the existence of sodalities. These groups, which included the Holy Name Society, where the men and boys of the parish sat together once a month at Sunday Mass; the Sacred Heart Sodality, which provided the ladies with their monthly gathering at Mass; while the young women of the parish gathered in their blue cloaks, on their Sunday, under the banner of the Children of Mary; and finally there were the members of the Hibernians in their green regalia. Who would forget the inspiring sight of all the sodalities from every parish in the Archdiocese marching behind their colourful banners at the annual "Monastery Sunday" processions? These occasions had an indelible effect on young people, creating not only a great sense of belonging, but also an awareness of their Catholic heritage, as they joined their parents and the thousands of Catholics present in singing the stirring words of "Faith of our Fathers".
In this same period the NCGM (National Catholic Girls Movement) was particularly strong in our parish. Its role in providing leadership, friendship, social and sporting activities, as well as study and discussions on passages of scripture, assisted in the balanced development of the young women in our parish.
Another organisation sadly missing today is the Parish Catholic Tennis Club, which in past years, playing in the Catholic Tennis Association, not only vigorously defended the honour of our parish on the court, but also gave our young people the opportunity to meet a wide cross section of young Catholics across the Archdiocese.
Experience in life has shown all of us that with the passage of time "change is inevitable". While it is important to acknowledge this as a fact, the introduction of change should not be accepted lightly, as change of its self is not necessarily better. As we move towards the celebration of the 70th Anniversary of our Parish, this occasion presents an opportunity to not only celebrate our Parish Community's diverse cultural heritage, but also to encourage each of these groups to offer a representative for inclusion in the organisation and conduct of any future Parish activities, so that as a Catholic Community we will work together to function as one, integrated, and united body.
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