Pastoral Team
Rev. Fr. January Mkude CSSp, PP
Appointed Parish Priest 1st January 2024
Fr. Mkude was ordained on the 12 May 2011, and served as Parish Priest at South Hedland in Western Australia from 2014 to 2021, and Associate Priest at Holy Spirit Catholic Community, Bray Park from 2021 to 2023. During his time at South Hedland, he also looked after Port Headland parish, and St. Cecilia’s School, during a period of illness of the Port Hedland parish priest. Fr. Mkude originally hails from Tanzania, a country known for Africa’s highest mountain, and for having the largest population of any country located entirely south of the equator. Fr. Mkude belongs to the Spiritans order, which is also known as The The Congregation of the Holy Spirit.
The Spiritans were founded in France in 1703, and their mission for over 300 years has been to evangelize the poor and marginalized all over the world. Worldwide, they have more than 2,500 priests, brothers, and lay members. The Spiritans were founded by a young French nobleman – Claude Poullart des Places – who gave up the practice of law to study for the priesthood. He founded a community for young men who wished to become priests and dedicated it to the Holy Spirit. About 150 years later, also in France, Francis Libermann, a converted Jew, started another religious family: the Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The two congregations, both dedicated to the evangelization and service of the poor, later became one: The Congregation of the Holy Spirit under the protection of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
Fr. Mkude was ordained on the 12 May 2011, and served as Parish Priest at South Hedland in Western Australia from 2014 to 2021, and Associate Priest at Holy Spirit Catholic Community, Bray Park from 2021 to 2023. During his time at South Hedland, he also looked after Port Headland parish, and St. Cecilia’s School, during a period of illness of the Port Hedland parish priest. Fr. Mkude originally hails from Tanzania, a country known for Africa’s highest mountain, and for having the largest population of any country located entirely south of the equator. Fr. Mkude belongs to the Spiritans order, which is also known as The The Congregation of the Holy Spirit.
The Spiritans were founded in France in 1703, and their mission for over 300 years has been to evangelize the poor and marginalized all over the world. Worldwide, they have more than 2,500 priests, brothers, and lay members. The Spiritans were founded by a young French nobleman – Claude Poullart des Places – who gave up the practice of law to study for the priesthood. He founded a community for young men who wished to become priests and dedicated it to the Holy Spirit. About 150 years later, also in France, Francis Libermann, a converted Jew, started another religious family: the Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The two congregations, both dedicated to the evangelization and service of the poor, later became one: The Congregation of the Holy Spirit under the protection of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.