Fr Alan Layt is savouring his final days of active ministry in the Parish of Rooty Hill before he starts his new season of life.
The beloved Parish Priest of St Aidan’s Catholic Parish is retiring with a heavy but extremely grateful heart, after celebrating 29 years since his ordination as a deacon.
“It’s with sadness, but I’m also 76,” Fr Alan told Catholic Outlook.
Fr Andrew Bass will replace Fr Alan as Parish Priest of St Aidan’s from Monday, June 16.
Fr Alan is well-known for his sense of humour. Image: Alphonsus Fok/ Diocese of Parramatta
Although he will move to James Dixon House for retired priests – named after the convict priest who celebrated the first officially approved Mass in the colony of NSW in 1803 – Fr Alan will continue to serve in St Aidan’s Parish community, albeit in a different capacity.
“I’ll come back to help out with Masses, hear confession and continue offering spiritual guidance and support to individuals and families,” he said.
“Priests don’t retire,” they simply retire from administrative duties and decision-making powers in their parishes, he said.
A Brief History
A true local, Fr Alan grew up in Silverwater and was educated at Parramatta Marist High School.
Fr Alan says Our Lady has watched over St Aidan’s during his time there. Image: Alphonsus Fok/ Diocese of Parramatta
Formed by the Pallottines, an order from Germany, his journey to ordination as a deacon in 1996 included working as a kitchen-hand, a clerk with the Department of Air, and a high school English and History teacher, for the most part at Arthur Phillip High School, Parramatta.
Fr Alan served in 10 parishes over 15 years before his arrival at St Aidan’s in 2008 and attributes the success of the growth-development model of the parish to the late Fr Renato Paras, whose last appointment in the Diocese of Parramatta was as Parish Priest of St Aidan’s from 1998 until his retirement in 2011.
Fr Paros was instrumental in the formation of the Filipino Catholic Organisation of Sydney (FILCOS). Designed to promote strong Christian values amongst the Filipino migrant community, it is especially thriving in Rooty Hill, which is sometimes referred to as the ‘Little Manila of Sydney’ owing to its size and the number of Filipino restaurants and businesses. One in five residents of the Rooty Hill-Eastern Creek area are now of Filipino descent, the largest migrant group in the area.
Fr Alan pictured at St Paul the Apostle Church, Winston Hills, in 1996, being ordained as a deacon by the late Bishop Bede Heather. Image: Alphonsus Fok/ Diocese of Parramatta
Fr Alan said the influx of Catholic migrants to the area, particularly those maintaining their faith — such as the Filipinos, Samoans and Tongans, those from the Asian subcontinent, plus the older generations of Maltese and Italians — had definitely enriched his parish and helped it to flourish.
“The ‘practicing’ rate is actually quite good,” he said.
Close to 1500 people regularly attend Sunday Mass and more than 100 regularly attend morning Mass. This doesn’t include the worshippers who use the crying room, also known as “the night chapel”.
Fr Alan with his parents, Mary and Fred. Image: Alphonsus Fok/ Diocese of Parramatta
“Before Mass we’ll have 10 or 12 people in the crying room adoring for a good 20 minutes; the same afterwards,” Fr Alan said.
“The main thing is to try to draw people closer to Christ. Essentially like the donkey on Palm Sunday … you have to try and keep their gaze fixed on the Lord you’re carrying.”
To Jesus through Mary
Fr Alan listed bringing perpetual adoration to the diverse and multicultural parish of St Aidan’s among his career highlights.
Fr Alan with the late Deacon James Phelan, left, and Fr Brian Myers (retired) at his first Mass after his ordination as a deacon. Image: Alphonsus Fok/ Diocese of Parramatta
Moving forward, he is looking forward to spending more time exploring his bookshelves and pursuing further studies, focusing on the teachings of St Thomas Aquinas.
“One of the things I’ll miss is the huge mix of people, the life in a parish, the babies and kids, and the food,” he said. “I’m going into a much more quiet environment after this.”
He expressed his deep gratitude to Bishop Vincent Long OFM Conv, Bishop of Parramatta, “for putting up with me”, all the parishioners, and to Fr Galbert Albino, Fr Carlos Walker, Fr Neil Bulathsinhalage and Fr Roy Cabradilla MLCC from within the clergy.
“I’d also like to thank Our Lady,” he said, making reference to the Virgin Mary, Mother of Priests. “When I took on the (St Aidan’s) parish I asked her to run it; I tell you what, she’s actually been running it ever since. When something fouls up, she sorts it.”
As the Jubilee of Priests draws near, we thank Fr Alan Layt for his spiritual guidance – and obvious good humour. May he keep walking as “a pilgrim of hope” on the path of the Gospel and making a profound impact on the spiritual and personal lives of those around him well beyond his retirement from active Christian ministry.
