 | Our Lady of Victories Catholic Parish Horsley Park Celebrating Community |
A HISTORICAL OUTLINE
Horsley Park, New South Wales
The name Horsley first appears on the map of the Western Suburbs of Sydney, in 1833. In 1806, Governor Philip Gidley King awarded a grant of land to Colonel George Johnston, for his part in quelling the Irish convict's rebellion of 1804. Johnston did not live on the grant, but his daughter, Blanche, and her husband Major George Weston, of the East India Army, decided to build their residence on the property. They built an Indian-styled homestead, which they named Horsley, after Weston's birthplace in Surrey, England. The Horsley Homestead, which still stands, gave its name to the town which grew up in the area.
The first school in Horsley Park was opened by John Morrissey, in 1931, to educate the children of people settling down in the area. Horsley Park was mainly inhabited by market gardeners. Italian and Maltese emigrants made a living looking afte their crop.
(Details about the history of Horsley Park taken from George Vance: Fairfield - a history of the District, second edition, The Council of the City of Fairfield, NSW, 1991)In the early 1950's no masses were celebrated at Horsley Park. The locals had to travel to Rooty Hill, Bossley Park or Liverpool parishes for mass. Car pooling was not a new idea then. Friends and neighbours who had vehicles, took with them those who had none.
From time to time a priest used to come to celebrate mass in the tiny Community Hall (opposite the Post Office). Then in July 1952 a priest started to visit Horsley Park and celebrate mass every two weeks and a month later, Fr Marrow introduced weekly mass. Fr Camilleri and Fr Baron used to celebrate mass in Maltese language once a month - this was very much appreciated by the Maltese migrants in the community
Horsley Park became a Parish, dedicated to Our Lady of Victories, in 1960, with the arrival of Fr Ernest G. Paine as Parish Priest. At first all baptisms were celebrated in homes. The community started to work hard to raise funds to build a parish church - door to door knocking, asking for help, was a common event. Hand made doilies, fruits from the market garden, and other items were raffled. Fetes were also organised. A committee was formed to introduce the Planned Giving Envelope system. All meetings took place in the old shop - the centre of the village.
The hard work of the locals and their motivation generated a strong community spirit. Tony and Paula Cini donated some land on The Horsley Drive, on which the parish church was to be built. This motivated the community even further. Fr Paine's mother also donated a small brass crucifix for the altar.
The new parish church was blessed and opened by Cardinal Gilroy, Archbishop of Sydney, on November 26, 1961.
Fr Paine also started visiting the community at Kemps Creek. He celebrated mass there in the Kemps Creek Community Hall (where Saturday night dancing was also held!). In 1975 Mr Hugo Perau donated three acres of land at 215, Western Road, Kemps Creek, to the Missionary Society of Saint Paul, who was then looking after the Horsley Park Parish. On this land a chapel was built dedicated to Our Lady Queen of Peace.
In 1965, the Parish was put under the pastoral care of the Paulist Missionaries, a community of priests and brothers, established in Malta in 1910, with the aim of going to mission lands and of helping Maltese emigrants. The first member of this congregation to become Parish Priest at Horsley Park was Fr Claude Borg MSSP.
The coming of Fr Borg brought a new motivation to the young parish community and a revival of the faith. Fr Claude recalls: "I was a young priest when I was in Horsley Park. I used to go out to visit families, Catholics or not. There is one remark I will never forget, said to me by an older Catholic: 'this is the first time a priest has come to visit us!' "
In 1963, the feast of Our Lady of Victories was organised for the first time. The first year a small statue of Our Lady was used for the procession. Later on the statue of Our Lady of Victories, which is used in St Mary's Cathedral for the Maltese feast, was brought over for the Horsley Park procession.
In September of 1967 a new statue of Our Lady of Victories was ordered for Horsley Park Parish. The statue, bought from Pio Anastasi and Co. Ltd., Manufacturers' representatives, PO Box 63, Valletta Malta, cost Sterling Pound 539, 10 shillings (AU $1,159 approx).
The Feast of Our Lady of Victories became a cultural event and many people from far and wide used to attend. In the first years, the procession with the statue of Our Lady of Victories used to leave the church, turn left onto Walgrove road, left onto Redmayne road and back along Walworth road
Fr Claude's encouragement and influence on the young people in the parish was great to see. Great numbers used to attend any functions that were organised. Sunday April 19, 1970 saw the opening of the Marion Peace Memorial Hall by Bishop Muldoon, Auxiliary Bishop of Sydney. This was another sign of the hard work by the parish community to raise the necssary funds. The hall was named in memory of Fr Claude's sister who had died before the completion of the hall, and Fr Claude's mother, who died during World War Two.
Fr Claude left the parish in 1971, followed by Fr Emanuel Adami (1971 0 74), Fr Charles Borg (1974 - 77), Fr Benedict Sant (1977 - 80) and Fr Phillip Gambin (1980 - 94).
Fr Philip was the driving force behind the building of the Catholic Primary school and a new Parish Church.
Marion Primary School was officially opened by the Hon Ron J Murlock, Minister for Education, and blessed by Bishop David Cremin, on January 31, 1982. The school started in small classes and offices under the Marion Peace Memorial Hall. Sister Catherine O'Brien RSC was the founding principal and remained with the school til 1987.
During this time Architect Mr Michael Milosovic prepared drawings and plans for the construction of a school. The first stage of the school building was opened by Dr Richard E. Klugman, Federal member for Prospect, and blessed by Cardinal Clancy, Archbishop of Sydney, on Sunday November 2, 1986. The second stage was opened by the Hon. Janice Crosio, Federal member for Prospect, and blessed by Cardinal Clancy on Sunday December 9, 1990.
By this time plans were being made for a new and bigger church to be built on the hill, behind the old church building. Cardinal Clancy opened and dedicated the new church on Friday September 3, 1993.
Visit the interior of the Church building at Horsley Park.
The TITLE of Our Lady of Victories
The TITLE of Our Lady of Victories given to the Blessed Virgin Mary, is a very old one. In fact, in different countries, different titles of Our Lady of Victories exist.
Some examples, with the feast day, are:
February 23 : Our Lady of Victories - an icon of the Blessed Mother was captured by the French in a battle with the Greeks in the 13th century;
February 25 : Our Lady of Victory (at Costantinople);
March 23 : Our Lady of Victory of Lepanto, Hungary (1716);
April 16 : Our Lady of Victories in the Church of St Mark, (Venice, Italy);
July 18 : Our Lady of Victory (at Toledo, Spain);
September 8 : Our Lady of Victories (in Malta) - also the Birthday of Our Lady;
September 26 : Our Lady of Victory (at Tournay, France);
October 26 : Our Lady of Victory;
December 3 : Our Lady of Victories.One commonly accepted title of Our Lady of Victories dates back to an historic battle between Christians and Moslem forces at Lepanto in 1521.
The Moslems had invaded much of Spain and were threatening to overrun most of Europe and de-Christianise Europe. The threat was real and it all came together at a sea battle at Lepanto. Realising the importance of this moment, Pope Pius V called upon all Christians to pray the Rosary for the success of this battle. The Christian forces prevailed, Europe was saved for the Christian Faith and the Moslems were pushed back to Africa. In honour of this victory, the Pope declared Mary the Lady of Victory and declared her feast day to be held on October 7, the Feast of the Holy Rosary.
This historical moment in the history of the Church in Europe is further recorded in two papal documents:
SUPREMI APOSTOLATUS OFFICIO: Encyclical of Pope Leo XIII on Devotion of the Rosary, September 1, 1883.
"The efficacy and power of this devotion was also wondrously exhibited in the sixteenth century, when the vast forces of the Turks threatened to impose on nearly the whole of Europe the yoke of superstition and barbarism. At that time the Supreme Pontiff, St. Pius V., after rousing the sentiment of a common defence among all the Christian princes, strove, above all, with the greatest zeal, to obtain for Christendom the favour of the most powerful Mother of God. So noble an example offered to heaven and earth in those times rallied around him all the minds and hearts of the age. And thus Christ's faithful warriors, prepared to sacrifice their life and blood for the salvation of their faith and their country, proceeded undauntedly to meet their foe near the Gulf of Corinth, while those who were unable to take part formed a pious band of supplicants, who called on Mary, and unitedly saluted her again and again in the words of the Rosary, imploring her to grant the victory to their companions engaged in battle. Our Sovereign Lady did grant her aid; for in the naval battle by the Echinades Islands, the Christian fleet gained a magnificent victory, with no great loss to itself, in which the enemy were routed with great slaughter. And it was to preserve the memory of this great boon thus granted, that the same Most Holy Pontiff desired that a feast in honour of Our Lady of Victories should celebrate the anniversary of so memorable a struggle, the feast which Gregory XIII dedicated under the title of "The Holy Rosary." Similarly, important successes were in the last century gained over the Turks at Temeswar, in Pannonia, and at Corfu; and in both cases these engagements coincided with feasts of the Blessed Virgin and with the conclusion of public devotions of the Rosary. And this led our predecessor, Clement XL, in his gratitude, to decree that the Blessed Mother of God should every year be especially honoured in her Rosary by the whole Church."(No. 4)
AUGUSTISSIMAE VIRGINIS MARIAE Encyclical of Pope Leo XIII On the Confraternity of the Holy Rosary,September 12, 1897.
"Since, as We have said, public prayers are much more excellent and more efficacious than private ones, so ecclesiastical writers have given to the Rosary Sodality the title of "the army of prayer, enrolled by St. Dominic, under the banner of the Mother of God," - of her, whom sacred literature and the history of the Church salute as the conqueror of the Evil One and of all errors. The Rosary unites together all who join the Sodality in a common bond of paternal or military comradeship; so that a mighty host is thereby formed, duly marshalled and arrayed, to repel the assaults of the enemy, both from within and without. Wherefore may the members of this pious society take to themselves the words of St. Cyprian: "Our prayer is public and in common; and when we pray, we pray not for one, but for the whole people, for we, the entire people, are one" (De Orat. Domin.). The history of the Church bears testimony to the power and efficacy of this form of prayer, recording as it does the rout of the Turkish forces at the naval battle of Lepanto, and the victories gained over the same in the last century at Temesvar in Hungary and in the island of Corfu. Our predecessor, Gregory XIII., in order to perpetuate the memory of the first-named victory, established the feast of Our Lady of Victories, which later on Clement XI. distinguished by the title of Rosary Sunday and commanded to be celebrated throughout the universal Church." (No. 8)
Finally, this is also referred to in the GENERAL ROMAN CALENDAR which has the aim to "distribute throughout the Church year the whole mystery of Christ, from the Incarnation to the expectation of his return in glory (Marialis Cultus #2 at 14)."
Within this framework, Marian feasts are celebrated, among which "the Feast of the Most Holy Rosary (also known as the Feast of Our Lady of Victories) is celebrated on 7 October and started by Pope Pius V in gratitude for Mary's aid in the great naval victory over the Turks. The feast was extended to the Universal Church in 1716, when Prince Eugene won another important victory over the same enemy in Hungary."
A Maltese Connection
When the Parish Church at Horsley Park was being built, in 1962, it was decided to dedicate the new Church to Our Lady of Victories. Given the fact that quite a number of the Parishioners of the newly established parish were from the village of Mellieha, Malta, where the Parish is also called Our Lady of Victories, a close look at the Maltese connection would be appropriate. This is further emphasised by the fact that both in Malta and in Horsley Park, the feast of Our Lady of Victories is celebrated on September 8, the birthday of Our Lady.
Malta, a tiny island in the middle of the Mediterranean, was prey to all the passers by. All through its history, it has been invaded by different peoples. When the Islmic religion was taking over Europe in the early sixteenth century, Malta was once again a focal point. After the battle of Lepanto in 1521, the Turkish armies turned their aim towards the island.
The Knights of St John had been governing the island since 1530 when the Turks laid seige on the island in 1565. It was a long and drawn out seige. The Maltese fought side by side with the Knights. They prayed for God's intervention. They hoped help might be forthcoming from Christian Europe.
When Knights and Maltese thought all was lost, on September 7, the Turks deserted the island. The Maltese, who have always been highly religious, saw in this God's hand. The next day the whole island celebrated the feast of the Birthday of Our Lady. They also celebrated VICTORY! and Our Lady was hence also called Our Lady of Victories.
After this seige, Grand Master Jean Parisot de Valette, decided to build a new capital city, which came to be called by his name: Valletta. One of the first buildings to be built in this new city was a chapel dedicated to Our Lady of Victories - the first one on the island carrying this title - to commemorate this victory.
