Capuchins leaving in January
Local
The Capuchin Friars will withdraw from the Newton parish by January next year, ending a 73-year association with the local Catholic community.
Fr Gerard O’Dempsey OFMCap, provincial of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, said it was his “sad duty” to announce the decision.
“We are faced with an ever-aging group of active friars and very few new vocations entering the order,” he said.
“Our recent ordination to the priesthood was the first in six years. Consequently, it has been necessary to take this difficult decision.”
The Newton parish will continue under the pastoral care of the Adelaide Archdiocese.
Fr O’Dempsey said the friars had been involved with St Francis of Assisi, Newton, for “close on 70 years, and many friendships have developed over the years”.
“But we have reached a point in the life of our province whereby we need to make some strategic decisions concerning the future of the Capuchin Order in Australia.”
Archbishop Patrick O’Regan said the parish would be supported by the Archdiocese as it moved towards this transition and would remain under its pastoral care.
He thanked the many priests who had been involved in the parish and for the care of its people.
In 1949 the Archbishop of Adelaide asked the Capuchin Order to assist with pastoral care for the Italian immigrants.
The first Capuchin Friars were accommodated in a tin cottage on what is now Silkes Road. By 1952 four acres of land were acquired, and in October 1953 a church was opened as an Italian Migrant Centre.
In 1960, the centre ceased to be part of the Hectorville parish, and the separate Newton parish of St Francis of Assisi was formed.
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