Hundreds of parishioners from Our Lady of the Rosary Parish, St Marys, have farewelled their beloved Parish Priest Fr Brendan Murphy SDB at a Mass and lunch on Sunday 21 December.
Organisers had been expecting about 300 people to attend the Mass celebrated by Bishop Vincent Long OFM Conv, Bishop of Parramatta, and then lunch afterwards at the nearby Don Bosco Youth Centre. But some estimates put the actual number at more than twice that.
One of the many attendees was local state MP Tanya Davies, who spoke at the lunch about how much Fr Brendan is loved by the parish community.
Fr Brendan has been at Our Lady of the Rosary for 15 years and finished up on 14 January. He will move to a parish in Auckland, New Zealand, in March. Fr Jeff Miller SDB, the director of the Don Bosco Youth Centre, has been appointed as his replacement.
Bishop Vincent celebrating Mass for Fr Brendan’s farewell. Image: Fenina Pepingco
The huge number of people who wanted to farewell Fr Brendan was no surprise to Leon Ross, the chairman of the parish council, who has been a member of the St Marys parish for more than two decades.
“Losing him is fairly significant for our parish,” he said. “There is a whole generation of us that have only known him as their parish priest.
“He has transformed the whole parish. He’s changed people’s lives; he’s changed my life personally.”
The lunch in Don Bosco Youth Centre was overflowing. Image: Fenina Pepingco
The event was the last time Fr Brendan was able to address the whole parish. In his speech, he spoke of his time before arriving at St Marys, his early years in the parish and the many things that have been achieved in the parish during his time there, Leon said.
“He kept saying ‘it’s not about me, all of these things are your accomplishments’. He kept putting it back on the people of the parish,” Leon said.
“But no matter what he says, it was 100 per cent due to him, due to his deep spirituality. He’s a shining example and people learn from that. The spirituality in the parish now is palpable.
Fr Brendan with his sister Anne, who spoke at the farewell. Image: Fenina Pepingco
“Wherever he goes, he’s going to change people’s lives.”
Bishop Vincent told the crowd of Fr Brendan’s deep commitment to his parish, as well as to promoting spirituality and the liturgy not just in his parish but throughout the Diocese, Leon said.
Other speakers included Fr Brendan’s sister Anne, and long-time parishioner and friend Denis Collins.
Fr Brendan Murphy’s deep commitment to his faith and his parish community reflects the Diocesan Pastoral Plan priorities of Prayer, Mission, Formation, Listening, Dialogue and Discernment, and Community. Read the full Plan here.
