Past Parish Priests
Fr Andrew Horan (1881-1892) |
Fr Thomas Hayes (1892–1910) |
Up until 1892 St Francis Xavier (called St Patrick's at the time) was a part of Ipswich parish. Fr Andrew Horan served as the priest of St Mary’s parish of Ipswich for over forty years, playing an influential role not only in the development of the St Mary’s Roman Catholic Church precinct but also of the Goodna parish. Father Horan was responsible for the purchase of 2.4 hectares of land utilised for the siting and construction of the SFX Church and also for the engagement of architect Andrea Stombuco for the church’s design. He formed part of the official party, headed by Bishop O’Quinn, who officiated the laying of the church’s foundation stone. Image: St Mary's Parish Historical Society
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When Goodna parish separated from Ipswich in 1892, Father Thomas Hayes became our first parish priest and served our community for some eighteen years. During his tenure, Father Hayes oversaw the construction of the original presbytery, the St Patrick’s Mercy convent and the original parish school building. Father Hayes also strongly advocated for the needs of his parishioners, particularly the provision of Christian education for the local children of the Goodna district through the involvement of the Sisters of Mercy. Father Hayes passed away from poor health in 1910, a few months before the opening of the convent. Image: The Catholic Press (1910, 25).
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Fr Michael Stapleton (1910–1924) |
Fr Thomas Keating (1924–1941) |
During his tenure, Father Michael Stapleton undertook the major 1915 extension of the SFX Church and internal refurbishment works, adding the sanctuary, two sacristies, water tanks, a fence, and an entry porch. In 1924, Father Stapleton left Goodna and became the parish priest at Hamilton. Image: Illidge (1981, 11).
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Father Thomas Keating oversaw the change of the church’s name from ‘St Patrick’s’ to ‘St Francis Xavier’. In 1939, Father Keating celebrated the silver jubilee of his ordination at St Francis, which was marked with a concert staged in the school and the gift of a chalice, which is still used in the celebration of Mass on occasion in the present-day SFX Church. Father Keating served Goodna parish for seventeen years, and his service to the parish is commemorated with a plaque erected in the 1940s within the front entry porch of the SFX Church.
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Father Finton O’Beirne (1941–1949) |
Discalced Carmelite Fathers (1949–1950) |
Father Finton O’Beirne served as parish priest of Goodna during the majority of the 1940s, having previously served six years as Graceville’s parish priest. Father O’Beirne oversaw the erection of a new pulpit in the church and the aforementioned memorial plaque for Father Keating, as well as the re-painting of the church’s roof.
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The Discalced Carmelite Fathers arrived at Goodna from Ireland in 1949 and administered the Goodna parish for a year before moving to their monastery on Gregory Terrace, Brisbane.
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The Dominican Fathers (1950–1951) |
Fr Patrick Clifford (1954–1962) |
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Fathers Lewis, Corry, and Aquilina were among the Dominican Fathers who administered the Goodna parish from September 1951 until their departure to their priory in Camp Hill in 1953. The Dominican Fathers oversaw electrical repairs to both the presbytery and the SFX Church. Subsequently, Father O’ Beinne returned to the parish’s service for several months until the arrival of the Dominican Fathers in September 1951. During their tenure at Goodna and under the leadership of Father David Lewis, the Dominicans oversaw a range of repairs in both the church and presbytery, before eventually moving to their priory at Camp Hill in 1953 (Illidge 1981, 16). Following this, Father JV Troy oversaw parish matters until Father Patrick Clifford began his duties as parish priest in June 1954 (Illidge 1981, 16).
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Father Patrick Clifford began his duties as Goodna parish priest in June 1954, following the departure of the Dominican Fathers; a position he held until 1962. During his tenure, the interior of the SFX Church and timber presbytery were re-painted and reportedly, his choice of a bright colour scheme was ‘not the most popular’ (Illidge 1981, 18). Many of the church’s statues were also painted. Father Clifford also arranged for the church’s floorboards to be covered in masonite. Photo: Illidge (1981, 18), Fr Clifford is on the right.
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Fr Tomasi (1962–1974) |
Fr Ron Illidge (1974–1985) |
Father Tomasi served during the early liturgical changes of the Second Vatican Council, which resulted in several modifications to the internal arrangement of the SFX Church, including altering the sanctuary area by moving the altar forward and leaving the tabernacle at the back. He was also instrumental in providing the foundations for raising funds to build the new presbytery. Under his tenure, the parish’s educational facilities also began to expand to the northern aspect of the site, close to the church and away from the old school building in the southern aspect. In 1975, Father Tomasi left to become the parish priest in Moorooka.
Historical information provided by Extent Heritage. |
Father Illidge was appointed as Goodna’s parish priest in 1974. Early in his tenure, he and a group of parishioners saw to the plugging of cracks in the church walls and the re-painting of the church’s interior. Father Illidge initiated the service of assistant priests from the Columbian Order and Banyo Seminary from 1975 to 1978 to be placed in the Goodna parish. In addition, and perhaps more significantly, due to Father Illidge’s vision and understanding of the liturgical changes enunciated at the Second Vatican Council, further gradual and considerable changes were effected to the interior arrangement of the SFX Church. During his tenure, the dilapidated timber presbytery was replaced with a new brick structure and a pergola structure was added to the northern side of the SFX Church. Father Illidge passed away in December 2004, and the parish centre is dedicated to his memory (known as the Ron Illidge Centre).
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Fr Roger Burns (2005-2017)
Born in Newcastle upon Tyne in the North of England. After leaving school, he began an apprenticeship in the Shipyards as a Marine Engine Fitter and then trained as a Design Draughtsman. With the decline of the Shipbuilding Industry, he trained as a Secondary School teacher and taught Design Technology, in a number of schools. In 1980, he began his training at Ushaw College, senior Seminary near Durham City and was ordained for the Hexham and Newcastle Diocese in June 1985. His first appointment as Assistant priest was in Durham City with two churches, four Hospitals and two, schools within the parish. After four years he was asked to take up the position of Pastoral Director on the staff of the Seminary, a position he held for six years. Leaving the seminary he was appointed parish priest of the Parish of St Joseph in Newcastle City and took up the responsibility of Dean of the Newcastle West Deanery.
In December 2002, he was granted a sabbatical year to investigate the possibility of his ministering in Australia. The main reason being that the majority of his family was living in Brisbane. In January 2003, he took up the position of Assistant Priest at St Mary’s in Ipswich. August 2004 he was granted Permanent Residency in Australia and released from the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle. The Archbishop incardinated him in to the Brisbane Archdiocese. With the withdrawal of the Augustinian priests, the parish became vacant and Fr Roger was appointed to St Francis Xavier Parish in December 2004. He commenced on 1st January 2005. In December 2006 Fr Roger received Australian Citizenship during a ceremony held in St Francis Xavier’s Church.
In December 2002, he was granted a sabbatical year to investigate the possibility of his ministering in Australia. The main reason being that the majority of his family was living in Brisbane. In January 2003, he took up the position of Assistant Priest at St Mary’s in Ipswich. August 2004 he was granted Permanent Residency in Australia and released from the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle. The Archbishop incardinated him in to the Brisbane Archdiocese. With the withdrawal of the Augustinian priests, the parish became vacant and Fr Roger was appointed to St Francis Xavier Parish in December 2004. He commenced on 1st January 2005. In December 2006 Fr Roger received Australian Citizenship during a ceremony held in St Francis Xavier’s Church.
Fr Vudinh Tuong (2018 - 2023)
Fr Vudinh Tuong is a former Jesuit priest, and was appointed as Parish Priest to St Francis Xavier, Goodna on the 1st January 2018. He came to Brisbane in 2001 and his first appointment was an Assistant Priest at Our Lady of Lourdes, Sunnybank for three years and then moved to St Maximilian Kolbe at Marsden and Kingston for a year before he was appointed to be a Parish Priest at St Mark’s Inala on the 1st January 2005. Following this, he ministered at St John’s Wood/The Gap from April 2011 to the end of 2017.
Vietnamese-born Fr Tuong found his vocation in the aftermath following the Communist invasion of South Vietnam when he became a refugee. “I saw a lot of people who spent a whole lifetime trying to get up to the ladder in society and when the Communists came they stripped everything away and ran away – they left their family, they left all the glory of the world and they ran away. I saw that there must be some other values more than material wealth. That was the beginning of my priesthood.”
The year he spent in a Thai refugee camp reinforced the call to turn away from the world. “I saw all the volunteers, who knew nothing of us, but came to help us and try and be nice people. I learnt from these people and I tried to help them.” Fr Tuong escaped Vietnam in 1979 and landed in Australia. He joined the Jesuits in 1981 and spent 20 years with them, including 10 years in formation, but due to a debilitating illness, he wound up in sunny Queensland. Whilst in recovery, he pursued a call to be a diocesan priest within the Archdiocese of Brisbane. He celebrated his 25-year jubilee in 2016.
Vietnamese-born Fr Tuong found his vocation in the aftermath following the Communist invasion of South Vietnam when he became a refugee. “I saw a lot of people who spent a whole lifetime trying to get up to the ladder in society and when the Communists came they stripped everything away and ran away – they left their family, they left all the glory of the world and they ran away. I saw that there must be some other values more than material wealth. That was the beginning of my priesthood.”
The year he spent in a Thai refugee camp reinforced the call to turn away from the world. “I saw all the volunteers, who knew nothing of us, but came to help us and try and be nice people. I learnt from these people and I tried to help them.” Fr Tuong escaped Vietnam in 1979 and landed in Australia. He joined the Jesuits in 1981 and spent 20 years with them, including 10 years in formation, but due to a debilitating illness, he wound up in sunny Queensland. Whilst in recovery, he pursued a call to be a diocesan priest within the Archdiocese of Brisbane. He celebrated his 25-year jubilee in 2016.