2000

11th October 2000
Restoration of Historic Shrine
A shrine dedicated to Mary, the Mother of Jesus Christ, with the title Our Lady of Perpetual Help, will be unveiled in Saint Patrick's Catholic Church, Singleton, during a ceremony on Saturday morning, 14th October. The Shrine was built to house a picture of the child Jesus with his Mother, painted in Rome and blessed by the Pope in 1883. It is reputed to be the earliest such shrine in Australasia.

The large shrine was built from cedar by Brother Lawrence Watters, a member of a religious order of priests and lay-brothers who came to Australia from England and Ireland. The Redemptorists, as they are known, made Singleton their first home In Australia between 1882 and 1887. Since then, they have established monasteries all over Australasia. The present head of the Redemptorists in Australia and New Zealand, Father Leo Coffey, is coming to Singleton to bless the restored Shrine.

The Shrine was a feature in Saint Patrick's church until its removal in 1969. Some of the shrine was broken up, but the major part of it was kept by the Sisters of Mercy, who returned it to the Parish in 1998 for re-instatement in the church. Since that time, a small group of parishioners has spent hundreds of hours restoring the timberwork and reconstructing the sections which were disposed of in 1969. The remarkable results of their work will be seen for the first time by parishioners during the 14th October ceremony.

The Catholic Church this year celebrates a Jubilee Year, commemorating 2000 years since the birth of Christ. Earlier in the year, the Singleton Catholic community celebrated the 140th year anniversary of the opening of its historic parish church, Saint Patrick's, the oldest Catholic Church in northern Australia. The return of the Shrine, part of an ongoing restoration of the building, is another milestone for the parish.

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