WHO WE ARE

Here to Glorify God

A. Short Glimpse of the Parish

Our Lady of the Rosary (OLR) Kensington NSW is a parish of the Archdiocese of Sydney under the care of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart (MSC). OLR Kensington became a separate parish in 1906 from within Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (OLSH) Parish Randwick.

At its establishment - and for many of the years since - OLR Kensington has been ministered by the MSC, such that the parish has been and continues to be very much developed, animated and inspired by the charism and spirituality of the MSC Founder, Fr. Jules Chevalier. Father Chevalier believed in God’s love (Credidimus Caritati) and wanted to ensure the world of God’s love. He also had a strong devotion to Our Lady, since he had an extraordinary experience of God’s providence through Mother Mary at the time of the MSC foundation. The MSC mission is to proclaim God’s love through our daily lives and to bring people to know and love God through Mother Mary (Per Mariam ad Iesum: Through Mary we come to Jesus). The sisters of the Congregation of the Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (DOLSH) – who share the influence of Fr. Jules Chevalier with the MSC in their foundation - have been ever present in the parish and influential not least because of the schools established within the parish.

Other religious congregations in the parish community are active in performing teaching, religious instruction, liturgy and other ministries. Parish based social ministries include the St. Vincent de Paul Society, the MSC Mission Office Board and the DOLSH Overseas Aid Office.

As a community who believe in God’s love, we commit ourselves to:

Showing to the world that we are loved by God (identity).
Welcoming people to our worship community (celebration of life and love).
Supporting the poor and the needy ones.

PERSONNEL OF THE PARISH

Committed to Instilling Faith into All Congregants

FR. TERRY BOWMAN MSC

Parish Priest

Fr Terry Bowman MSC was born in Warmambool, Victoria on 2nd December 1953, the youngest of six children.

As a child he always wanted to be a priest and after completing his secondary education he entered the Diocesan Seminary at Werribee to train for the priesthood for the Ballarat Dioceses. However, after seven months he left the seminary and went back home to work for three years.

He was involved with his local parish community and decided to work as a Lay Missionary in Alice Springs. It was there that he first met the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart (MSC). Working closely with them he was impressed by their hospitality, their humanness, and their obvious love for the people of God that centred on the heart of Jesus.

In 1981 Fr Terry joined the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart and on August 13th 1988 he was ordained at Koroit, Victoria. In his 32 years of priesthood he has ministered in Daly River, Bathurst Island, Moonah, Henley Beach, Coogee, Blackburn and now Kensington.

Fr Terry enjoys singing, reading and cooking and collecting elephant. Drop by and say hello and check out Fr Terry's treasure.

MARIA CAETANO

Parish Secretary

Maria was appointed Kensington Parish Secretary in August 1999 and has enjoyed being a part of the Kensington Parish Community lead by the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart. To date, one of the highlights of working at Kensington Parish has been World Youth Day 2008, the preparation for that event, meeting the people from overseas that were housed within the parish and of course attending WYD Mass. ‘It’s not every day you can say you attended Mass said by the Pope!!!

INTERIM LEADERSHIP COMMITEE

For some reasonable reasons, this parish has had no Parish Pastoral Council (PPC) for a few years. In 2013, Fr Alo appointed some of the parishioners to work with him as an Interim Committee. This committee is called “Interim Leadership Committee” (ILC) which will do some preparation for establishing a PPC as well as functioning as an advisory board to the parish priest in governing the parish.
The members of the ILC are:

JUDITH LYNCH

Judith was baptised and educated in OLR Parish. Judith and husband James have 4 children and 4 grandchildren. Her working life has been as a practicing solicitor and in business as director and trustee. Judith is grateful to the DOLSH Sisters especially and to the stream of OLR Parish Priests from Monsignor McAuliffe to Father Alo Lamere for their support to herself and family during her lifetime.

FRANCINE PIROLA

Francine with her husband Byron have five children and have been residents in Kensington for over 20 years. She works as a volunteer for the Marriage Resource Centre developing programs and writing articles to support Catholic couples and families. She is passionate about the role of marriage and family in the mission of the Church.

STEPHEN CHIEW

Stephen, his wife Daniela and 2 children have been part of the OLR Parish community for the last 17 years. Stephen practices quantity surveying. His other interests are golf and good wine. The OLR Parish community has a strong foundation. Stephen would like to see OLR grow and flourish and become self-sustaining in the future.

ROEL CASTILO

Roel, his wife and four children migrated to Australia in June 2002, and were wholeheartedly welcomed by this parish. ‘Being brought up by a traditional Filipino Catholic family, we are so grateful to be a part of this parish and we felt we never left home, the feeling we have had in going to liturgical celebrations at OLR is a grace from God and my faith grows every time. Being involved in the ministries is a blessing’. Roel is forever grateful to the people being instruments of God's affirmation of love to you.