It had been 27 years in the making but the imposing new Holy Family Catholic Church in Ingleburn has now been officially opened.
Bishop Peter Ingham was joined by Father Peter Caruana, the Ingleburn and Minto parish priest and more than 500 members of the local Catholic community for the official opening last week.
In a statement, the Wollongong Diocese said the completion of the new church was “a testament to the devotion and commitment of the Ingleburn and Minto parish community and Father Caruana.
Bishop Ingham and Fr Caruana led a Mass of Dedication for the new church, which has been in operation since Christmas.
The liturgy commenced with a symbolic handing over of the keys of the church by Fr Caruana to Bishop Ingham.
Other liturgical highlights included a blessing and sprinkling of water over the church and those gathered; anointing and lighting of the altar and walls; incensation of the altar, the church and the those gathered; and a prayer of dedication over the church by Bishop Ingham.
Bishop Ingham opened his homily with: “At last, the long awaited day has come!
“Here we are by God’s grace and the diligent selfless saving by your parish priest, Fr Peter Caruana.
“Holy Family Church is now a very visible building in this neighbourhood – a sign of the presence of God amongst his people,’’ Bishop Ingham told the faithful.
“We call it a ‘church’ because this is where the people of God (who are the Church) assemble to hear the Word of God and celebrate the Eucharist; and are also motivated to reach out to people in need.
“Just think of the Masses to be offered in this building – think of the real presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist.
“Think of the children and the adults who will be baptised and confirmed here; the couples who will be married here and begin their family life from here; the people who will be reconciled here through the Sacrament of Penance; and those who will be anointed with the Oil of the Sick, to heal and comfort them in their illness.
“People, even the most secular, feel compelled to build places of gathering for human beings, because we are social by nature.
“Therefore, Holy Family Church is not a novelty, not the project of a few religious fanatics of the 21st century.
“It is a human work and it represents a human need being met.
“Holy Family Church exists as a place where the people of God can come together and proclaim, without apology and without embarrassment, that Jesus Christ is Lord!
“You and I are God’s building, built on the foundation who is Jesus Christ.
“The Church is people – this building is the house where the Church gathers.
“So, if a visitor wandered in and said to a parishioner, ‘what a beautiful church!’ the parishioner would respond, ‘yes, and the building is nice too.’ The church building should be as beautiful as the church people are,’’ Bishop Ingham said.
In giving thanks, Fr Caruana spoke of the near 50 year history of the parish and praised the countless parishioners over the past 27 years – many of whom have now passed on – who contributed to the building of the new church.
He also paid tribute to the architects of the building, De Angelis Taylor & Associates, and the builders, FAL Construction Group.
The new church has been warmly embraced as an impressive structure with a certain grandeur in the design.
In the lead-up to the completion of the new church, Fr Caruana explained: “My aim for the new church was not to produce a grand design that was over-bearing or superfluous in any way.
“My motive was to build a dignified church that didn’t merely look like a building with a cross.
“The design is Romanesque in style modelled on the churches in Europe. Any grandeur it portrays is only meant to point to the grandeur and glory of God.
“If we are true to the Gospel of spreading the Good News and Pope Francis’ call to the New Evangelisation, all our actions, including planning the future size of our churches, needs to reflect this.
“Also, when deciding on the size of the new church, we needed to consider the population increases projected for Ingleburn and Minto with the new estates going in around the area.”
