‘Overwhelming joy’ at blessing of altar

By Wendy Shaw

Catholic parishioners from near and far gathered at St Helena and St Stanislaus Catholic Church at St Helens for a joyous celebration on 23 August.

Archbishop Tony Ireland blessed the renovated church and altar following the completion of extensive works.

The Archbishop concelebrated Mass with St Mary’s parish priest Fr Norberto Ochoa and Scottsdale priest in residence Fr Edwin Thundathil Xavier.

Fr Norberto said afterwards: “I was so overwhelmed with joy as the celebration came to an end.

“After thanking everyone who attended and those who had a role in the liturgical celebration, the Archbishop told me [I had missed] one person to thank … me.

“The highlight of the celebration was … when the Archbishop explained in his homily the importance and the centrality of the altar in the church’s celebration.”

Fr Norberto said the parish was ‘very welcoming and cooperative’, and enjoyed an influx of visitors during the holidays and the summer season.

Renovations started in July 2022, four months after the eye-catching church marked its centenary.

Fr Norberto said the work included a new galvanised iron roof; removal of cement plastering inside the church to expose ‘beautiful’ brickwork; a new wooden door; new altar table; updated floor coverings in some areas and the varnishing of floorboards in others.

 “The huge wooden altar table was replaced with a small altar table, which was already consecrated, from the warehouse of the Archdiocese of Hobart,” Fr Norberto said

“The blessed sacrament placed at the centre of the altar was donated by the parish in Campbel Town, replacing the small blessed sacrament attached to the right side of the altar wall.”

During his homily, Archbishop Tony said there was “something particularly moving about blessing or dedicating an altar in a small Catholic community”.

“An altar is fixed and solid. Life often is not,” he said.

“We come to the altar with our joys and our grief.

“We come carrying the people we love. We come when life has gone wonderfully well and when we do not quite know what to do next.

“And Christ gives himself to us. He is bread for us. He gives himself: ‘This is my body.’ ‘This is my blood.’

“We come to this altar to receive Christ so that we might carry Christ from this church into St Helens and beyond …

“For from this altar Christ sends us out, so that even here, on this beautiful eastern edge of Tasmania, all the ends of the earth may see the salvation of our God.”

A shared meal followed Mass.

The parish is grateful for Archdiocese of Hobart funding, parish fundraising, the efforts of volunteers and all who helped with the works.

“The total completion of the project happened in April 2025 before Holy Week celebration,” Fr Norberto said.