By Brenda Pye 

Tuesday, 23 February saw 54 parishioners come along to celebrate 85 years since the dedication of St Mary’s Church, Mooroopna.

St Mary’s Church originally occupied a weatherboard building in Mill Street, Mooroopna, built in 1877, it even boasted a choir loft.

St Mary’s Church as it stands today was opened and blessed in 1936. At the time, it functioned as a combined church and school, a unique concept, even in 1936.

Over the years, until 1936, the Sisters of Mercy travelled from Shepparton on Sundays to conduct Sunday School.

Moving from Mill Street to the current location in the early 1940s, the school had 60 enrolments. Combining church and school was a very new idea in those days. Blackboards formed part of the partitions to create two school rooms and a small church section. This allowed the school to operate

without disturbing the church section. The lovely Stations of the Cross were brought across from the old church.

By 1962 the church/school was inadequate for the numbers attending, and Fr Scott built three new classrooms, an office and a staff room and in 1970 two more classrooms were added. Fr Duffy built the open area complex and new administration building in 1977.

Over the past 40 years, the church has continued to flourish and evolve and the spirit of the parish remains vibrant and active. The mass to celebrate 85 years of dedication was deeply felt by all those who attended. During the Mass the congregation was sprinkled with holy water as a sign of their belonging to the Body of Christ. As well as this, incense was used as a symbol of consecration of the church. The younger parishioners particularly enjoyed the historical significance of the celebration and appreciated the history of the parish.

The Mass was celebrated by Monsignor Peter Jeffrey, photographed with Acolyte Graeme Quinlan and Altar Server Mason Crosier.