Some Reflections On St. Anthony's Parish
Fr. Leo Conlon C.M.
In January 1960 I arrived to take up the post of Parish Priest of St. Anthony's, Marsfield, in succession to Father Phonse Hayes, C.M. This was my first time as a P.P. and there was no better place than St. Anthony' s to begin this phase of my life which was to last for seventeen years.
Marsfield gave me the opportunity of living with the Vincentian Community at the Seminary and enjoying their company. At the same time it offered a sense of independence, of being my own boss. Maybe this latter situation is not necessarily the best for a person.
When I first came to live in St. Joseph's/Curzon Hall, way back in 1938, the residential section of Eastwood ended at Alexandria Avenue. From that point on, Balaclava Road passed through a rural area of dairy farms, orchards and nurseries. By 1960, Marsfield, as it had come to be known, was semi-rural.
The Parish comprised some of the long-established families who were pioneers of the Marsfield region. Along with them were more recent arrivals, many from Italy. And the third stream was the local Sydneysiders who had left the inner suburbs to come and enjoy the pure air of the Lane Cove River valley. The paved and kerbed streets of Ashfield or Annandale were exchanged for such thoroughfares as Culloden and Abuklea Roads; dust tracks in the dry and water courses in the wet.
When I think of St. Anthony's Parish, Marsfield, I think of people. The mention of some Parishes conjures up visions of impressive buildings and real estate. Back then, neither element was particularly conspicuous. The land had been purchased long before through the foresight of Father Joe Cusack, of Eastwood. The actual site of the present church was owned by the Vincentians. So all in all, the "Church" had the whole corner block.
Bricks and mortar, paving and fencing were added as needed. No previous site development plan existed. Maybe this was a bad thing: maybe not. One consequence of this lack is that even today, St. Anthony's does not overawe one with a formidable building plant. It is like a living entity. Its story, its past and present are seen in its buildings. To my knowledge the only structure to have been demolished was the three-sided wooden shed that served as a class room in the earliest years of the school, when still part of Eastwood Parish.
So, for me, St. Anthony's is about people. They gave me a truly warm welcome back in 1960. That was before Vatican II, but I had a wonderful group of Parish ministers. The Daughters of Charity were tireless in the school, and when school had ended for the day they visited the families of the children and many other families as well. In their spare time out of school hours and at week ends they set up and ran clubs for girls and boys.
The Legion of Mary carried out house to house visitation and helped me keep the Parish census up to date. The St. Vincent de Paul Conference visited and welcomed newcomers to the Parish, and visited the sick. A small but dedicated group of catechists helped to give religious instruction in the local State Schools. The Altar Society members were unstinting in their time and energy to keep the Parish church absolutely spick and span. Steve Contessa rang the bell tor first Mass every Sunday, and on any week day when a feast of the Blessed Virgin was celebrated. Many good people produced flowers for the altar each weekend. And so it went on. St. Anthony's was people.
When I returned for a second stint as P.P. in 1969, what a change I found. Marsfield was now residential. The spirit of community was even more evident. The involvement was far more embracing. One who was responsible for much of this was that rather startling and at times forthright character, Father Gerard Harper. But he had first class material to work with. It is told of St. Vincent de Paul that when he was pastor of the Parish of Clichy, then on the outskirts of Paris, he remarked that even the Pope could not be a happier man than he was. He had such devout parishioners who always did what he told them. I think I had one up on Vincent: so often I never had to ask or tell, because people came quite spontaneously to offer their help. To try to list even some of those offers would take too long. And I only have two pages!
In the interim while I was away from Marsfield, the Divine Word Missionaries had come to live in the Parish, and they were followed by the Christian Brothers, both wonderful neighbours. The Brothers in particular contributed much to St. Anthony's. It was an inspiration to have the girls from Seton Villa join us as Sunday Mass as well as the more mobile people from St. Catherine's Villa. One thing that made me proud of Marsfield parishioners was the warm and sincere welcome that was given to visitors from Africa. These were teachers who had come to Macquarie University for study courses and who attended Mass with us on Sunday. New groups had been formed, especially centred on the school, such as the Mothers' Club and the P. & F. What wonderful social occasions we enjoyed together - Parish dances, barbecues, picnics, games nights. The Tennis Club rose to life again; The Natovi Club came into being as well as the St. Anthony's Ladies' Club; there were teams in the local netball competition and the district soccer competition; and there had grown up a much closer link between the Seminary and the Parish. Again, too many things to list. And I still have only got two pages. To repeat, when I think of St. Anthony's, I think of people. No doubt some, perhaps most of you, if you have persevered thus far, are wondering or saying: "when is he going to mention somebody, name some names?" Ah, dear friends, I am not going to do that. I have only got two pages! Actually, I have mentioned one former parishioner, and if you can remember the name, without going back to look it up, I will give you a little holy card. There were so many who were, and still are, very dear friends. There are those whom God has called to himself and whose mortal remains rest in the Field of Mars and Northern Suburbs. I could not name some and omit others. The memory of your presence and support will never leave me.
And thinking of you as a Parish group, the place and occasion which binds and brings all together is the remembrance of the Eucharistic Celebration in St. Anthony's church. Our Sunday Mass together was something I always looked forward to; the early morning Masses on week days had a prayerful quality of their own. The tremendous liturgies of Easter and Christmas gave a lift to our faith. Every year the celebration of First Holy Communion was an event that moved all those who shared in the day. It was good to welcome the Bishop for Confirmation and also welcome him for the annual Mass arranged for the families whose children attended the three State Schools. St. Anthony's was in great demand for weddings and these were occasions of rejoicing. The spirit of community was always evident when we gathered for the Celebration of Christian Farewell and the Mass for the Dead. On one such occasion as the coffin was carried to the side entrance and the final hymn being sung, a lady, a visitor rather than a parishioner, came alongside me holding her handkerchief and breaking off her singing said something like this: Father, this has been such a beautiful funeral; When I die I hope I can be buried trom this Parish. I hope she doesn't read this.
Well, I have only got two pages but I hope to have stirred some memories that you can talk about. Once again, for me St. Anthony's is about people. My wish and prayer is that it will ever remain so; that the sense of community will keep on growing as old parishioners move on and others take their place. May you always be generous in loving one another as Christ has loved you, and serve one another as he has served you.
Aileen Price
reprinted from the "Marsfield Messenger", December 1980
I am Aileen Price, and I live in Agincourt Road, not far from St. Anthony's Church. I was born in Sydney in 1892, the fourth of six children of James and Mary Jane Doyle. When I was young my family lived in Marrickville, in St. Brigid's Parish, and I was educated by the Good Samaritan Sisters there.
In 1914 my family moved to Eastwood, which was at that time part of the Epping Parish. There was no Catholic Church in Eastwood then, and Mass was celebrated in a room over a shop on what is now the corner of Rowe Street and Hillview Road. Often our family, and other Eastwood parishioners, would walk to Epping to Mass. Our only transport then was by steam trains, which didn't run frequently, so we walked along the railway line, as it was the most direct and level way to Epping. Later St. Kevin' s Church was built, and when I was married in 1923, to Ewart Price of Haberfield, ours was the first Nuptial Mass celebrated in St. Kevin's.
Before then, I remember walking out to Marsfield with friends and members of my family, to be present at the opening of St. Joseph's Seminary in 1922. When Eastwood was made a Parish, Marsfield was part of it. I remember that two Sisters of Mercy from Epping used to go daily to teach at the little Marsfield School, also several Sisters of Mercy came daily to the school at Eastwood.
After our marriage my husband and I lived in Concord for some years, then returned to Eastwood until 1955, when my husband retired, and we moved to our present home in Agincourt Road, so that we could have a small home near the Church as we grew older. St. Anthony's Marsfield was then a Parish on its own, and the Daughters of Charity taught in the school.
My husband, (whose friends here all knew him as "Horrie" Price), joined the St. Vincent de Paul Society, also worked on the church committee, and later on the St. Catherine's Villa Committee when it was formed. I joined the St. Catherine's Ladies Auxiliary also. In those days the Parish was very small, and I think we had only about 600 parishioners. There were not many homes here, but a good number of flower and market gardens. Much of this area was in the "green belt" of Sydney, and it was only after the zoning was changed that so much housing development began, and St. Anthony' s Parish grew so quickly. Some old friends and fellow parishioners from those days were Marge and Jack Kilkeary (now of Koorong Street), who were our good neighbours, also Mr and Mrs Papallo, Mr and Mrs Tumminello, and Zarro Family, the Caleja Family, and in the St. Vincent de Paul Society with my husband I remember especially Max Sidney, now deceased, Bill Ross, Sid Cowan and Gerry Marshall. Mrs Tumminello was the faithful organist always for the weekly Benediction.
I think that all the parishioners from the earlier days of St. Anthony's will remember Sister Mary Fagan. Sister was one of the first four Daughters of Charity to come to Australia, and she was the "visiting sister" in the Parish here. We saw her day after day walking to visit the families in the widely scattered Parish, finding anyone who needed help of any kind - she walked everywhere - everyone knew her and loved her.
In the years I have been here I have known many wonderful Vincentian Priests who worked here for us: Fr. Duffy, Fr. Quinn, Fr. Fitzgerald, and of course Fr. Harper, all now deceased, and Fathers Hayes, Conlon, and Sullivan, and now we have Fr. Jim Maloney (whom I knew years ago as a boy in Eastwood Parish), and Fr. Spillane. I think we have been blessed in our Priests.
In 1973 my husband and I celebrated our Golden Wedding Anniversary with a special Mass, otfered by Father Conlon in St. Anthony's, and our four daughters and our grandchildren, relatives and friends joined us there. Two years later Father Conlon was again with us in our home here when my husband died, and later Father said the Requiem Mass for him. I am so gratetul for all the blessings God has given me during my life, and for His continued blessing now that I am old. I am not able to go out now, but members of the St. Vincent de Paul Society often visit me, also Mrs Lorraine Gruber, of the Caring Committee, visits with her two daughters, and each week Father Spillane or one of the other Priests or deacons come, and I have the wonderful privilege of receiving Our Lord in Holy Communion, and once a month I am able to receive the Sacrament of the Sick.
I think that we all have so much to thank the Vincentian Fathers for in their care for us in this Parish, and I am glad to be a parishioner of St. Anthony' s.