Over his 45 years as a worker in God’s vineyard, Fr John Goulding has tried to live a life of service in the footsteps of Christ.
Now in retirement, Fr John is grateful for the service of the Diocese’s Clergy Support Foundation Health and Wellbeing Team, who have helped him in this next stage of his life.
Born in 1943 in Bellingen, on the NSW mid-north coast, Fr John was the eldest of five siblings. At 13 years old, due to a family breakdown, he became separated from his siblings.
“That was a terrible thing that happened to me, but from all bad things that happen, good comes,” Fr John said.
“I’ve told people I only want three words on my tombstone when I die, and those words are, ‘all is graced’. We’re graced through all the things that happened to us in life.
“Having lost my mother when I was 13 meant that [in my ministry], I’ve been able to reach out to other children, to other people who have had the same experience and with that, I hope I’ve been graced with compassion.”
Having a belief that he always wanted to be a priest, Fr John undertook his secondary studies at the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart (MSC) Minor Seminary in Douglas Park, NSW, with the help of his aunty. At the end of his secondary studies, he entered the novitiate, but soon left.
Undertaking teacher training in Armidale, Fr John worked in the NSW public education system for three years. Feeling called to ‘repay’ the Missionaries for what they had done for him, he volunteered as a lay missionary to teach in one of their schools in a developing country.
In 1969, Fr John set off to Papua New Guinea (PNG), where he initially taught for six years in the Archdiocese of Rabaul.
However, it was a chance conversation that pulled him back to seminary life.
“In 1974, one of the staff at the seminary in PNG, an MSC brother, Br Smith, asked to have a chat with me.
“We walked down to the beach and he said to me, ‘I’m going to Kensington [Sydney] to the seminary next year to study for the priesthood. Will you come with me?’
“I said, ‘no, Br Smith, I don’t want to go with you. I’m happy here as a lay missionary.’
“But it then began to dawn on me that perhaps God speaks to us through other people. God was inviting me to go to the seminary. He doesn’t come down and speak to us person-to-person – He speaks to us through other people.”
Retired priest Fr John Goulding. Image: Alphonsus Fok/Diocese of Parramatta
Fr John then travelled to Port Moresby and spoke with an MSC priest, who was a close friend, about the conversation he had and his own personal background. By the end of the weekend, Fr John was convinced of his calling and, in 1975, joined the St Paul’s National Seminary, run by the Missionaries in Kensington in Sydney’s east.
Fr John decided that once his studies were complete, he would become a priest for the Archdiocese of Rabaul, on PNG’s New Britain island, where he enjoyed those six years as a teacher.
“I love Papua New Guinea so much, and I love the people there.
“I have a little sign in my room that says, ‘live simply’, and that’s the greatest lesson I learned from my many years in Papua New Guinea. The people had nothing, and yet, were the happiest people in the world.
“When I was a lay missionary, I used to visit the Mission Hospital and I got to know this boy who was very sick. Eventually he left the hospital and went back to his village. A few months later, I happened to be driving through his village and he saw me in my car, told me to stop and he gave me four hen eggs – which was all he had – to say thank you for what I had done. That was the most beautiful gift I’ve ever received.
“I enjoyed going on ‘patrol’ where I’d live up in the mountain areas and visit the villages that hadn’t seen priests or hadn’t had the sacraments for a long time. That was always wonderful for me, as the people loved the priests coming to visit them to bless their marriages and baptise their children.”
Ordained in the chapel at St Joseph’s, Baulkham Hills, by Cardinal Clancy in 1978, Fr John went back to the Archdiocese, where he would serve in a variety of ministries, including a stint as the Archbishop’s secretary, for 21 years.
In 1994, Fr John returned to Sydney, where the late Bishop Bede Heather, the first Bishop of Parramatta, appointed him to serve three years at St Bernadette’s Parish, Lalor Park, which was followed by an appointment of three years at St Matthew’s Parish, Windsor.
In the early 2000s, Fr John returned to his hometown of Bellingen to look after the Mt Tabor retreat house for 10 years. Then, in 2010, he moved back to Sydney where he was the chaplain at the Cardinal Gilroy Village aged-care residence in Merrylands for 11 years.
Retiring last year at the age of 80, Fr John found the transition hard.
“I’ve been a priest for 45 years, and during those years, I had constant contact with the people I lived with. I shared their life and ministered to them. Now, that’s come to an end. My life has changed totally.”
Fr John is grateful that he has been cared for in his old age by the “wonderful” Diocesan Clergy Health and Wellbeing team of Mark Buhagiar, Ellen Small and Peter Noone.
Fr John Goulding (left) speaking Clergy Health and Wellbeing Coordinator Peter Noone. Image: Alphonsus Fok/Diocese of Parramatta.
“They have been absolutely marvellous to me. If I need any assistance, they come straight away.
“I was hospitalised recently, and they came to visit me in hospital, they’ve taken me to all my medical appointments and to the pharmacy when needed.
“I do try and thank them, but I don’t think I can thank them enough.
“If I didn’t have the support of this Diocese, I don’t know what I’d do.”
Fr John is hoping that once he is well again, he will be able to continue giving back to the Diocese by becoming a supply priest to parishes across Western Sydney.
“It’s been a joy for me to serve the people of this Diocese.
“I can never repay the Diocese for allowing me to come and live here at James Dixon House.
“We priests are ordained for others, not for ourselves. I have found that wherever I went, I loved the people and I found that in return, they loved me. In my ministry, I loved the work and I loved the people that I was serving.
“I want to continue my ministry as long as I can.”
Retired priest Fr John Goulding. Image: Alphonsus Fok/Diocese of Parramatta
With your donation to the Clergy Support Foundation’s Father’s Day Appeal, you can ensure our priests receive the care and support they need in retirement and old age.
With the rising cost of living, it is important to support the work of our Clergy Health and Wellbeing team so retired priests can live in dignity and comfort.
“The Father’s Day appeal is a way of thanking the retired priests for their fidelity and for bringing the sacraments in so many ways to our people,” Fr John said.
“The retired priests have given many years of their lives to you, their parishioners. They’ve been faithful to their priesthood, and on behalf of them all, I thank you very sincerely for your help.”
Please support the Bishop’s Father’s Day Appeal by calling (02) 8838 3482 or visit parracatholic.org/fathersdayappeal.
Your generosity will help support our ageing priests’ health and wellbeing during retirement.
