From Fr Greg's Desk: Sunday 2nd March, 2025

Hi everyone!
'Happy Centenary to you', our beautiful OLQP Catholic Church
This weekend, on the 1st of March, we commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the Laying and Blessing' of the Foundation Stone at OLQP Church. We will have a very 'low key' celebration on Saturday Evening at the 5 pm Mass at OLQP, but the 'big' official celebration is next weekend, when his Grace, Archbishop Anthony Fisher, comes to celebrate the event officially at OLQP.

We look forward to welcoming His Grace, along with Parish priests of days gone by, dignitaries, guests, and especially the long serving faithful worshippers at this Church - past, present and, possibly, future (well, you never know who might drop in unexpectedly on the day...)

Please be aware that there will be no parking in the grounds at OLQP Church, except for those for whom it is reserved (we will have attendants 'directing traffic' with official guest lists at the entrances to both parking areas - off both Westminster Rd and Oxford St). I thank you in advance for your understanding and kind treatment of the person in the 'high viz' vest next Sunday morning. (And please don't park there overnight, just to score a place (??) ... 😁)

I would ask the same for our ushers inside the Church on the day. The seats in the front eight rows have been reserved already, and they have to be... (I apologise in advance if 'your regular pew' is already taken) ...but the others will be the available on a 'first come first served' basis. There will also be seating outside, with a few TV screens set up, and live streaming available as well in case you can't see that much. Hopefully the weather will be good (and yes, we will be counting on Our Lady to please intercede for us for that specific purpose on the day...). I look forward to seeing you there!

‘Five Windows into Our Lady's Life' ... or Her "Timeline to Eternity"
In other news, I am launching an appeal this week for five 'big benefactors' to sponsor one of five uniquely designed windows marking five pivotal moments in Our Lady’s life. These will be installed directly above the sets of double doors at the back of OLQP Church and the confessional. There are currently four large rectangular windows immediately under the choir loft, along with the wooden panel above the door to the confessional.

The project on offer is to replace them with five beautifully designed stained glass type windows, depicting her 'Timeline to Eternity' from her Immaculate Conception, through to the Annunciation, the Virgin Birth of our Lord, the Assumption and finally, her Coronation as Our Lady Queen of Peace. This will give the back of the Church a unique feel and serve as a 'mini-catechesis' of the life of our Lady, in this historic Church dedicated to her memory.

I have engaged for this work Sr. Josephine Marie, of the Sisters of Mary Morning Star in Devon, (UK), who is not only a happily professed contemplative nun, but also an accomplished iconographer, artist and painter. She beautifully designed the stunning skylight of the Campion College Library here in Sydney back in 2022, which I am sure you will agree is breathtakingly beautiful and theologically exquisite. You can read all about that project back then in the Catholic Weekly article at https://catholicweekly.com.au/faith-shines-at-campion-college/.

Fast forward to several months ago. Having been directed towards that work of Catholic art by 'a little birdie' several months ago, after commenting about my desire to use that space to site five iconic images depicting moments of our Lady's life in the clear glass panels at the back of the Church, as a kind of 'living timeline' of our Lady from conception to eternity, I contacted her to enlist her professional help in the project. She was enthralled by the idea, and immediately set to work. I have included a letter from her to explain what the project is about.

This project, like that of Campion College's Library Skylight, does not come cheap. It will take the good sister months of time and effort to paint these images, for as you can see from the opposite page, they are quite detailed. It will also not be cheap to harness the technology and know how needed to install these images onto the prepared glass and install them in their respective niches. They will need to be professionally fitted and illuminated, so as to make them visible, all of which will require serious funding. These will remain there as a lasting 'catechesis' about our Lady's life and her pivotal role in the Lord’s 'Salvation History'.

So, I am looking for five benefactors (or groups of benefactors) to sponsor each one of the panels before work will begin, as I have already stretched the budget to 'overheated' (both for this year and the next) with the new carpet and all the upgrading work done recently at OLQP. I will give the first opportunity to members of our Parish, but if that is not forthcoming, then I will seek other benefactors to fund the project.

The donation for the middle image (much larger than the rest) is $20,000, and $15,000 for each of the other four. This will also help affray the expenses of the other six windows which have already been mounted (although by a very different method) at the front of the Church last week, and which were also quite expensive. Rest assured that a memorial plaque will be installed in a fitting place underneath the window sponsored, to remember either the donor or a special 'loved one', etched beautifully and affixed there underneath.

I am placing some draft images of the five panes in the bulletin to give you an idea of what they will look like, although as Sr. Josephine Marie says, these are still very much a 'work-in-progress' (and a 'work-in-prayer' !!) Please direct any 'expressions of interest' to me in writing at pp@rgcp.org.au.

And that's about it for now. This weekend we say goodbye to summer and hello to autumn. So, have a great weekend, and embrace the cooler air.

Fr. Greg