The feast day of Corpus Christi has a special meaning for Fr Jolly Chacko MS, Parish Priest at St John XXIII, Glenwood-Stanhope Gardens.
He believes that the celebration of the Eucharist, the body and blood of Christ, is also a celebration of the parish and wider Church community.
“When there is unity, when there is love, when we are able to work together for the betterment of everything, you become the true body of Christ,” he says. “We come together to bring the bread and the wine, and through that we become the Eucharist.”
It is this common purpose that Fr Jolly spends much of his time working towards in the parish, and so far, “it is going well”.
A big and diverse parish
The parish is one of the youngest in the Diocese, having been established in 2002. It also has some of the youngest parishioners, with an average age of less than 40.
And it’s big. On weekends, some 1500 parishioners celebrate across five Masses. Last year about 170 children received their first Holy Communion.
One reason for these booming numbers is the two large, well-regarded schools in the parish – St John XXIII Catholic College, which caters for kindergarten to year 12 and is located on the parish grounds, and Holy Cross Primary School, in neighbouring Glenwood.
Many of the young families in the parish have children at these schools, and the schools feature prominently in parish life.
Fr Jolly and the parish organise students and teachers to be involved in ministries such as music and altar servers.
The school choir sings at weekend Masses once a month. School children are involved with the SRE team teaching scripture at the nearby public school and a liturgical team is formed among the school children to organise liturgy in the school and to help out in the parish, “mainly with students taking leadership”.
Parish Priest Fr Jolly Chacko MS during the feast day celebrations at St John XXIII Parish, Glenwood-Stanhope Gardens, in October 2023. Image: St John XXIII Parish/Facebook
Another feature of the parish is its multicultural make-up, with more than 17 nationalities represented in the congregation.
This multiculturalism is one of its strengths, Fr Jolly says, as everyone works hard to create “a unity in diversity”. He says the more people are involved, the more they feel a sense of belonging.
“We create opportunities for people to come together, through parish retreats, fun days and sports events, as well as multicultural food days.
“Everybody has got a share in what we do, it’s that sense of working together. That is what we are trying to achieve.”
To help this along he makes sure his leadership of the parish is based on the care and support of his flock. He believes this always pays dividends.
“Once people know that you are there when they need you, then beautiful things happen.”
Going “where there is a need”
Fr Jolly grew up as one of seven children in a devoutly Catholic family in rural Kerala, in southern India. As part of the Syro-Malabar community, he remembers his whole family being involved in parish life – his father was president of the parish council – and praying the Rosary every day.
After finishing school, he went on to university where he graduated with a double masters degree in political science and psychology. He also completed courses in spiritual direction and pastoral care.
Parish Priest Fr Jolly Chacko MS at St John XXIII Parish, Glenwood-Stanhope Gardens. Image: Antony Lawes/Diocese of Parramatta
At 23, he joined the Missionaries of Our Lady of La Salette, and later travelled to the Philippines where he was ordained in the Latin Rite and worked as a priest. He also spent time in France at the shrine of Our Lady of La Salette.
After serving the La Salette community in parish ministry, as Novice Master and Director of Scholastics, his community was invited in 2007 by the then Bishop of Parramatta, Kevin Manning, to come and minister in the Diocese.
Apart from three years spent back in India serving as Vicar Provincial between 2010 and 2013, Fr Jolly has served an assistant priest at Penrith and Marayong parishes and spent five and half years as Administrator and then Parish Priest at St Finbar’s, Glenbrook. In addition, he has assisted with the formation of deacons and the permanent diaconate.
He joined St John XXIII Glenwood-Stanhope Gardens Parish in 2020, replacing Fr John McSweeney.
As a priest, Fr Jolly says he has always enjoyed going “where there is a need”.
“It is really the most wonderful blessing that God has given to celebrate the Eucharist every day and ministering to the community,” he says.
“It’s a joy to be with people in their happiest moments of life like baptism, weddings, receiving communion and confirmations, as well as a comfort to them in their grief and loss.”
This article was originally published in the 2024 Ordinary Time | Winter edition of the Catholic Outlook Magazine. You can read the digital version here or pick up a copy in your local parish.
