A spiritual home in the heart of Hobart: Passionists celebrate 70 years at St Joseph’s

By Heather Excell

For many Catholics, St Joseph’s Church has become a spiritual haven amid the bustle of Hobart City. Now celebrating 70 years at St Joseph’s, the Passionists continue to keep those doors open, offering daily Mass, frequent opportunities for Confession, and a place to encounter Christ in the heart of the city.

Celebrating the milestone with Mass on 18 July, the Passionist community reflected on the last 70 years of their ministry in Hobart.

The Congregation settled in Hobart in 1956 following an invitation from Archbishop Guilford Young after a series of successful parish missions preached by visiting Passionist priests.

Archbishop Young had asked the community to take responsibility for St Joseph’s and establish a spiritual centre within the city where prayer, retreats, and the regular celebration of the sacraments would nourish the spiritual life of Catholics across southern Tasmania.

Although the Passionists had preached missions in Tasmania since the late nineteenth century, the community as it exists today began when two priests and a brother took up residence in the former Sisters of Charity convent, which soon doubled as a retreat centre.

Today, St Joseph’s is recognised across Tasmania for its commitment to daily Mass and the regular celebration of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, continuing Archbishop Young’s vision for the parish.

Founded by St Paul of the Cross, the Passionists seek to proclaim the love of Christ revealed in His Passion by accompanying those who suffer, helping them discover hope and healing in the light of the Resurrection.

Parish Priest Fr Justin Durai CP said the Eucharist and Reconciliation remain at the heart of that mission.

“In my time here, I have seen the Passionist charism of ‘keeping alive the memory of the Passion of Christ’ especially during the celebration of the Sacraments like Eucharist and Reconciliation,” he said.

“Eucharist and Confession are powerful sacraments of nourishment and healing. The breaking of the Word and the breaking of the Bread in the Eucharist nourishes the soul. The breaking of the heart and pouring out one’s innermost self with courage and trust in Confession is an essential aspect of healing.

“As this breaking process can cause suffering, the Passionist charism of accompanying those who suffer in this process makes the Passionist mission meaningful.”

Their ministry has also extended well beyond the walls of St Joseph’s. For decades, Passionist priests have served as hospital chaplains across Hobart, walking alongside patients and families through illness, grief and loss. This ministry also encompassed some of Tasmania’s darkest chapters, including the 1967 bushfires, the collapse of the Tasman Bridge, the St Canice boiler explosion, and the Port Arthur massacre.

Former parish priest Fr Peter Addicoat CP said those moments revealed the heart of the Passionist vocation.

“We’re here for the proclamation of the Passion and showing the depth of God’s love through the Cross and Resurrection,” he said. “Circumstances like these drew people into awareness again of the needs of others.”

In his homily for the Anniversary Mass on 18 July, Passionist Provincial Fr Denis Travers CP reflected on the congregation’s charism, saying that while love often involves loss, it is returned anew through the Resurrection.

“Where others saw the horror and the cruelty of the Crucifixion, St Paul of the Cross saw love reigning supreme,” he said. “He wanted that to be the memory that we kept alive and proclaimed.

“In these 70 years, I hope we’ve been as faithful as we can be to that commission.”

Archbishop Tony Ireland thanked the Passionists for their decades of ministry in Hobart.

“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,” he said. “Today we give thanks for those first Passionist priests who arrived in 1956, and every Passionist priest who has followed them. Thank you for your faithful service to the people of God here in Hobart.”