From Ireland to India: The Changing Faces of the Canberra-Goulburn Diocese Priesthood

In the 1870s, Bishop Lanigan, the Bishop of Goulburn, proposed the establishment of a Sick Priest’s Fund.

The initial idea was to support parish clergy who needed to take sick leave. Later, the need to provide support for retired priests was also realized.

In the 19th century, most of the Catholic community of the Diocese was born in Ireland, and most of the priests were Irish. It took until the 1950s for half of our priests to be Aussies and the other half Irish.

From the 1960s, most of the Priests of the Goulburn Diocese were men from the country, coming from most of the diocese’s towns.

Towns included Goulburn, Young, Barellan, Boorowa, Gunning, Gundagai, Tumut, Temora, Cootamundra, West Wyalong, Crookwell, Grenfell and many others.

In the 1970s, the Diocese of Goulburn became the Archdiocese of Canberra-Goulburn.

The Diocese benefited from St Paul’s National Seminary Kensington. From 1968 to 1998, 23 priests from the Seminary were ordained for the Diocese. In the last twenty years, the Diocese has been well served by priests from various countries, particularly India.

In the last 12 years, several young new priests have originated from Canberra.

The Clergy Retirement Foundation currently supports 24 retired priests. Six are in their 90s, eight are in their 80s, and seven are in their 70s.
Of these, seven are currently living in aged care facilities.

The Clergy Retirement Foundation arranges and supports some annual gatherings. The Serra Club organises a very popular BBQ for retired men. Another annual event is the Christmas Mass and lunch at the Archbishop’s House.

Your generous donations for the Father’s Day Appeal will help us continue caring for our retired priests, who have served us so well for many years. Please continue praying for our retired priests and new vocations to replace them.

Paul Monagle is the Archdiocesan Clergy Retirement Foundation Manager