70th Anniversary of the Passionists at St Joseph’s, Hobart
Seventy years ago, Archbishop Guilford Young invited the Passionists to come to Hobart to care for St Joseph’s Parish, to minister to the hospitals, and to establish a retreat house in the heart of our city. It was a bold invitation, and the Passionists responded with remarkable generosity.
Today we give thanks to Almighty God for those first Passionist priests who arrived in 1956, and for every Passionist who has followed them. Some ministered here for only a short time, others for many years, but each has left an imprint on this parish, this Archdiocese and on countless lives.
Our gratitude reaches back even further than 1956. Long before the Passionists established their permanent community here, they had already planted seeds in Tasmanian soil. We remember with particular affection Father Augustine Fleming CP, the first Tasmanian-born Passionist. Following the brief Passionist mission at New Town in the 1890s, he returned to preach at St Joseph’s in 1896. In many ways he became a living sign that the Passionist charism had already taken root in this island. Sixty years later, what had once been only a hope became a lasting reality when the Congregation returned to establish this community. Father Augustine reminds us that God often prepares his work long before we are able to recognise the fullness of his plan.
The charism entrusted to St Paul of the Cross is a precious gift to the Church. He wanted the memory of the Passion of Jesus never to fade from the hearts of God’s people. In every generation the Passionists have reminded us that the Cross is not merely a symbol of suffering, but the greatest revelation of God’s love. The Passionist emblem, bearing the Cross and the three nails, has become for so many people a sign of hope because it points us to Christ who loved us to the end.
Here at St Joseph’s, the Passionists have been much more than parish priests. They have been preachers, confessors, spiritual directors, retreat givers, hospital chaplains and faithful companions to generations of Tasmanians. They fostered devotion before the Blessed Sacrament, introduced the lunchtime Masses that have nourished city workers and visitors for decades, conducted retreats and parish missions, and quietly accompanied people through moments of joy, grief, illness and uncertainty. Their ministry has often been carried out without fanfare, but never without fruit.
This morning we also remember with gratitude the many Passionists who have gone before us marked with the sign of faith. Their names are written in the history of this parish, but more importantly they are written in the hearts of the people whose lives they touched. We pray that the Lord whom they served so faithfully may now grant them the fullness of eternal life.
I wish particularly to thank your Provincial, Father Denis Travers CP, for being with us today and for the leadership he gives to the Congregation. Through him I extend the gratitude of the clergy, religious and faithful of the Archdiocese of Hobart to every member of the Passionists in the Province.
Anniversaries are never simply about looking backwards. They invite us to receive the past with gratitude, to live the present with renewed generosity, and to look to the future with confidence in God’s providence. As our Archdiocese prepares for its Synod, we continue to need the witness of religious communities whose lives remind us that Christ remains at the centre of everything we do.
May St Paul of the Cross continue to intercede for the Passionists. May St Joseph, patron of this parish, watch over them. And may the Lord who called them to proclaim Christ crucified and risen continue to bless their ministry in Tasmania for many years to come.
Happy seventieth anniversary; and thank you for your faithful service to the people of Hobart.
Most Rev. Anthony J. Ireland
Archbishop of Hobart
18 July 2026