A joyful moment arrived for the community of Marsden Park, one of Greater Sydney’s fastest-growing suburbs, as the Diocese of Parramatta warmly welcomed Sri Lankan-born Fr Gayan Thamel as the new parish’s first-ever parish priest.
This significant milestone marked the beginning of a new chapter in the life of the parish; bringing with it new opportunities for faith, connection, and spiritual growth in this flourishing community.
There was standing room only inside St Luke’s temporary church on Sunday 9 February, as people gathered to celebrate the Mass of Installation of Fr Gayan Thamel, a veritable ‘man of the people’, as parish priest.
Bishop of Parramatta, Bishop Vincent Long OFM Conv beckoned the faithful, including the Parish Council, to publicly pledge their unwavering support of Fr Gayan as he shepherds the parish into a new era of “consolidation, growth and many new blessings”.
The crowd boomed in agreement that they would support Fr Gayan and loudly applauded. Fr Gayan was also presented with a garland, in recognition of his new ministry.
“There you go, a resounding ‘yes’,” Bishop Vincent beamed.
Bishop Vincent Long OFM Conv, Bishop of Parramatta installs Fr Gayan Thamel as Parish Priest of St Luke’s Parish, Marsden Park. Image: Alphonsus Fok/ Diocese of Parramatta
Fr Gayan was incardinated into the Diocese of Parramatta on 1 November 2020 from the Diocese of Bunbury, Western Australia. On 1 October 2023, he was appointed Episcopal Vicar for Migrant Chaplaincies, representing more than 20 separate migrant chaplaincies, including the Coptic, Fijian, Korean, Filipino and Vietnamese. In early 2024, Fr Gayan served as Supervising Priest at St Luke’s, before being recently installed as Parish Priest. Additionally, he sets aside time for Chaplaincy ministry at the RAAF Base Richmond.
“What a sight it is,” Bishop Vincent exclaimed, gazing upon the vast crowd of well-wishers, which included visitors from Fr Gayan’s previous parishes of Windsor and Richmond. These parishes, the largest in the Diocese, stretch across a vast area, encompassing regions all the way to Lithgow and Singleton.
Bishop Vincent added: “Here we have a very large number of Catholics,” and he prayed for the “burgeoning Christian community”.
Marsden Park is home to a large number of Catholics.
According to 2021 ABS figures, Catholicism is the second-largest religious affiliation in Marden Park, behind Hinduism; with Catholics making up around a quarter of the local population.
With over 3,600 local Catholics, it’s no wonder why the size of the congregation at St Luke’s has grown from 150 to more than 600 people.
“It’s a very new community, even after seven years, yet we can feel the energy and life of this new community in the liturgy, singing and even the many children we have here,” Bishop Vincent said.
“Brothers and sisters, we have with us Fr Gayan who didn’t cross the Lake of Gennesaret like the disciples, but he did cross the Nullarbor … some seven years ago [and] was eventually placed in Richmond as its pastor,” Bishop Vincent joked during his homily, referencing the Gospel reading, Luke 5:1-11.
St Luke’s community feels the love
The intense feeling of love and admiration of churchgoers was palpable on Sunday.
“He’s very relatable,” Francis Rosete, a father of two girls, aged 5 and 2, from Marsden Park, said. His wife Myra said she liked that Fr Gayan blesses the little children during the church services.
Meanwhile, altar server Ryan, aged 11, praised Fr Gayan for “involving kids in activities, instead of just preaching to them”. He also called Fr Gayan a “good example and role model”, adding that maybe one day he too might become a priest.
Fr Gayan Thamel greets parishioners after his Installation Mass as the first Parish Priest of St Luke’s Parish, Marsden Park. Image: Alphonsus Fok/ Diocese of Parramatta
Former parishioners ‘sad to see him go’
Meanwhile, the installation of Fr Gayan at St Luke’s came with a heavy heart for his Richmond parishioners, including Bill and Marjo Jansen, a married couple of 54 years.
“We’re sad to see him go,” Mr Jansen said.
Mrs Jansen said she would miss the fact that Fr Gayan was “very easy-going”.
“We go fishing at Sussex Inlet [South Coast] and he comes along… He’s just like us!” Mrs Jansen said.
“I love a bit of fishing,” Fr Gayan chimed in, smiling broadly.
Growing a parish from a seed
The Marsden Park faith community was formed seven years ago, on 1 January 2018.
Deacon Tony Hoban was appointed as Pastoral Director, and with the support of his wife, Annette, and a dedicated Advisory Group, the couple began shaping a community focused on faith, discipleship, and partnership with St Luke’s Catholic College which has generously made its performance centre available for Sunday worship.
Under Fr Gayan’s new leadership, St Luke’s will continue to grow as a welcoming and supportive parish community.
“The new pastor will build on the work of Tony and Annette,” Bishop Vincent said.
Fr Gayan Thamel distributes communion to members of the faithful during his installation Mass at St Luke’s Parish, Marsden Park. Image: Alphonsus Fok/ Diocese of Parramatta
Big plans ahead
Reflecting on his new appointment, Fr Gayan said he is committed to nurturing the local faith community.
“For me, being a successful Parish Priest is about working with others and bringing out other people’s gifts,” he said.
“It’s a great occasion and challenging as well because we don’t have a church building,” Fr Gayan said, referring to the temporary structure and future plans for the parish community. He explained how each weekend, local volunteers set up St Luke’s Catholic College’s Fitness and Sports Performance Centre to enable the local faithful to celebrate Mass there.
Over the next 12 months, in partnership with the Diocese, the community is hoping to build a new office and hall on the designated church site. The hall will serve as the initial place of worship before a permanent church building is erected, Fr Gayan explained.
Fr Gayan Thamel greets parishioners at St Luke’s Parish, Marsden Park. Image: Alphonsus Fok/ Diocese of Parramatta
Small steps of grace
Since arriving at St Luke’s, Fr Gayan has already made an impact.
He has established a Finance Committee and supported St Luke’s Catholic College graduate, Marjorie Pasaquian, to form a new youth choir; bringing the total number of parish choirs to eight.
The new youth choir has around a dozen members aged 13 to 23 years, and the parish looks forward to their inaugural performance as they lead the congregation in singing at the Vigil Mass on Saturday 8 March.
Next on Fr Gayan’s to-do list is to introduce Weekday Masses. These will be held on Wednesdays from 7am and Fridays from 6.30pm, he indicated.
“He’s very dedicated to getting to know everyone while trying to do a lot; not only does he meet the needs of the parish, but of us,” parishioner Marjorie, aged 18, said.
View the full gallery of photos of Fr Gayan’s Installation Mass on our Flickr page or below.
