On the 1st of February 1951, the local Catholic community of Toongabbie were delighted to be advised that they were to be established as a separate Parish from the Wentworthville Parish, and to be named the Parish of St Enda. The then Archbishop of Sydney, Sir Norman Thomas Cardinal Gilroy KBE, appointed Rev Fr Bill Canavan as the first Parish Priest, a position he held until his retirement in 1960.
1950’s
At the commencement of our Parish, all Liturgies were held in our Church Hall, St Enda’s, which also doubled for our Parish School, Dance Hall, and Cinema. During the first decade of the Parish, emphasis was placed on the acquisition of land on which to build the Church and School. Property was purchased on the corner of Targo and Girraween Roads and the house standing there was used initially as the Presbytery. It was intended to build both school and church at this location, but this was opposed by a number of older families, especially those who helped build the hall from scratch. Subsequently the School was moved from St Enda’s Hall to the Targo Road location in 1957 and the Priests house was utilised as the Administration Offices for the School.
In 1958 the name of the Parish was changed to St Anthony of Padua. Two apocryphal stories came also around this time. It is suggested that a meaningful donation to the Church Building fund was offered as long as the Parish name was changed to St Anthony’s, Also the story goes around that the Parish Priest at the time was not happy with the collection plate being filled mainly with Pennies, He threatened to throw them out if things didn’t change. The following Sunday after Mass he carried out his threat and threw the Pennies out onto Aurelia Street, at the feet of the local Paper Boy, who collected 10 shillings for his effort of picking them up. A tidy sum in those days!!
1960’s
Fr Les Bagot was appointed as Parish Priest in 1960 and he continued to foster the plans for a new Church building in Toongabbie. Land was purchased next to the Church Hall and with plans in place, building the new Church began in March 1962.
The priests of the parish took up residence in what is now the Parish Centre at this time and the property at Girraween was taken over by our primary school.
1970’s
Fr Bagot was replaced as PP in 1969 by Fr Ted Shepherd who continued the programs commenced by Fr Bagot, especially renovations to the Parish School. But it was also at this time that the outcomes of the Second Vatican Council (1963-1965) came into effect.
Fr Shepherd led the Parish with the introduction of these changes which were considerable. One of the changes introduced was the encouragement of Lay Readers. Two of those appointed are still rostered as readers today, Mr Vince Delany and Mr Chris Worthington
It was also during the 70’s that the Altar was moved forward on the Sanctuary which allowed Mass to be celebrated with the Celebrant facing the congregation. Another change was the introduction of Laymen being installed as Acolytes; a status previously provided only to Seminarians. A number of these appointees are still members of our Parish Community, Joe Reyes, Clarrie Cross, Adrian Van Doorn, Vince Delany, and Tony Lette.
Although our faith has been taught in local State Schools since early last Century, the formation and coordination of the Catechists was not formalised. Mrs Joan Flanagan taught the Catechists for many years, but Fr Shepherd appointed a Catechist Co-Ordinator for this purpose in 1976. This was undertaken by Sr Helen Law. Secretarial Assistance was also provided to assist in supporting the Catechists with all their needs. This role was carried out by our past Parish Secretary, Mrs Shirley Stewart, from 1983 until her retirement in 2017.
1980’s
Fr Shepherd was replaced as Parish Priest in 1979 by Fr Maurice McNamara (RIP). Lovingly called Fr Mac, he continued the work commenced by his predecessor in increasing the involvement of the Laity in Liturgical celebrations. He introduced more modern forms of music into our Eucharistic Celebrations by use of guitars and modern hymns. In addition, he introduced Liturgical Dancing as a reflection process after Communion. He also introduced Youth Focused Masses.
There were two things that you were likely to hear about in his homilies, the mighty “Roosters” (his view) football team during the Rugby League season and his deep attachment to Papua New Guinea. Fr Mac spent two “on loan” appointments to Parishes in that country. In relation to the East Sydney football team, he was very happy when they were winning!!
Prior to 1983 there was no requirement for the Parish Priest to have a guiding committee to assist in the running of the Parish. This changed as a result of Vatican II and all Parishes in the Diocese of Parramatta were asked to institute a Parish Pastoral Council. This was undertaken by Fr Mac and the first meeting was held in November 1983.
Other initiatives taken at this time were,
The commencement of a “CARE” group. This was formed with Mrs Shirley Rowan and Mrs Rita McCreadie as the Co-Ordinators. This group provided contact with the frail and housebound and gave them the opportunity for social activities.
Pre-Baptismal Program, which provided information to the parents of children to be baptised on what the Sacrament signified and what the various symbols used in the ceremony were meant to represent. Initial team members included, Vince and Debbie Adams, Paul and Donna Sinclair.
Fr Mac also encouraged the formation of a Parish Social Committee. Through this committee an outback bus tour was organised in 1986 to enable the parishioners to be united and it proved to be very successful.
1990’s
Fr Bill Moore was appointed Parish Priest in 1988, to replace Fr McNamara who ventured once more to Papua New Guinea for a short stay. Fr Bill continued the work undertaken by his predecessor but also added to the liturgies by holding contemporary sung masses. It was also during this time, under the instigation of Mrs Debbie Adams, that Children’s Liturgies became a part of our Sunday Masses.
Around this time other ladies of the Parish created a Creative Arts group which is still happily in existence led by Mrs Janie Muscat and Mrs Vicki Baiada and Mrs Helen Reardon
Another feature of the late 1980’s was a reintroduction of young adult ministry into our Parish. In the 1950’s/60’s youth activity tended to be linked to sporting activities, although the CYO (Catholic Youth Organisation) was prominent but petered out in the late 1960’s. Fr Bill was approached by Bill and Sue Vogel’s in 1988 to start an Antioch Community group. This young adult program met every Sunday night until 2017 on its 30th Anniversary weekend.
Fr Bill also altered the Baptismal Liturgy to be held over two Sundays. He requested that the parents of children to be baptised come to a Mass on the weekend before the baptism date so that their child could be welcomed by the faith community. The welcome took place at the door of the Church and the child was “signed” with the sign of the cross and anointed with the Oil of Catechumens during the Eucharistic Celebration. The actual baptism then took place on the day booked, generally the next weekend. This remained in place until 2013/14
Another feature of our liturgy that was altered by Fr Bill was the introduction of communion under both kinds (Bread and Wine), which was a feature of the changes put forward by the Second Vatican Council. The main activity that took place during the 1990’s was the alteration completed to our Church Interior changing its orientation from the standard, all facing the Altar, to a model of gathering around the altar, to share in the Lord’s Supper. This change was controversial at the time but has since been generally accepted by the Faith Community.
Also, at this time the Churches rules in relation to women assisting at the altar were amended, so to counteract the loss of Acolytes due to retirement and ill health, Fr Bill introduced fe-male Senior Servers. Their role was very similar to that of acolytes and gave another role for members of the laity.
2000’s
Fr Bill Moore continued as Parish Priest until his retirement from Church Ministry in 2006. Before moving on however, comment should be made of the eclectic group of assistant priests that were at-tached to our Parish at this time:
Henk Eijkman 1988-1989, renowned for his humanist homilies.
Richard Masin 1989 -'1992 (RIP) an ex-US Marine who when he left ministry in Australia, volunteered to go to Russia which was then slowly opening to the west.
Paul Roberts (Student & Deacon) .1990 now Parish Priest- OLQP Greystanes.
Tim Hogan (Student & Deacon) Dec 1991-April 1993 (more to come!)
Henry Duc (Deacon then Priest) May 1993-May 1996 now Parish Priest- Seven Hills
Peter Woodward (Student, Deacon & Priest) 1996-1999 (Chaplain to the Deaf) (RIP)
Tim Hogan 1999-2007 (Retired)
During the 1980’s/90’s the Church rules regarding people with disabilities being ordained were relaxed and Bishop Bede Heather accepted both Fr Peter and Fr Tim as candidates. Fr Peter had profound hearing difficulties. It was said by some of the youth in the Antioch movement that they preferred Fr Peter for reconciliation because he couldn’t hear the sins they were confessing!!
Fr Tim Hogan suffered from Cerebral Palsy, but this did not stop him from visiting Parishioners, especially those homebound and attending as many youth and other Parish activities as possible. He was a terror on his gopher machine!!!
When Fr Bill suddenly retired, Fr Tim also took the opportunity to do the same and for a short time we had no priests allocated to our Parish. However, our then Pastoral Associate Mrs Kay Horner and the Parish Secretary Mrs Shirley Stewart took this in their stride and asked some senior Parishioners to form a committee to steer the community at that time.
In early 2007 Fr Paul Marshall was installed as the Parish Priest of St Anthony’s. His pastoral ministry was one of great care and healing for the Parish and he was greatly admired and loved by all.
Fr Paul continued the various good works that had been put in place by previous parish priests but also led a rejuvenation of our Church both material and spiritual. From the outset he was keen on determining an overall Parish strategy to cover a four-year period, giving direction for Parish growth, both materially and spiritually. In early 2009 Fr Paul led a vision day for the Pastoral Council and other senior parishioners, along with members of the School Community. From this day a 5-strand mission statement was produced to cover the period 2009-2011.
Also during his tenure as Pastor, the following events occurred.
The building of the Priests house in Targo Road was finalised and the old Presbytery was converted into offices and the Parish centre.
World Youth Day 2008 took place and Toongabbie, under Fr Pauls leadership, billeted young people from the state of New Mexico in the USA,
Toongabbie Church was also selected as the Catechises centre for the Italian pilgrims and members of our church, over 5 days, sponsored and fed around 300 people each day. This was organised through the Parish Pastoral Council led by the Chair at that time Mrs Helen Reardon
The front fence of the Church property was heavily damaged and needed to be replaced.
An extension of the Church loan was obtained, around $60,000, and the car park was concreted. This secured the use of the car park as prior to this time it was washed away whenever it rained. A dearly loved parishioner Mr Terry Smith was the leader in maintaining the car park in rain, hail, or shine. (Generally, rain!!)
Grants were applied for through the State Government, via our local member Mr Nathan Rees, to enable the refurbishment of our Church Hall, St Enda’s, a total of $210,000 was spent at no cost to the Parishioners or to the Parish accounts.
Fr Paul also supported the introduction of a Men’s Breakfast group, led by Mr Peter Gardner as well as a Creative Arts Group led by Mrs Janie Muscat and Mrs Vicki Baiada
2010’s
Also, during his time as our pastor, Fr Paul was asked to lead the Diocese in determining its strategy over a four year period from 2014. This required extensive meetings throughout the diocese to obtain the views of the faith communities, in this endeavour he was ably assisted by Mr Daniel Ang. This plan called “Faith in our Future” was signed off by Bishop Anthony Fisher and put into effect in December 2013. Following on from the Parishes earlier strategy paper and utilising the Faith of our Future document, Fr Paul commenced in 2014 a spiritual renewal process aimed at inviting people back to, the Church called “Operation Andrew” This led to, among other plans, the tradition of presenting Lenten Reflections at each Sunday Mass during the season. This was also extended to the Advent Season.
Many other plans were also put into effect, but Fr Paul was asked by the Bishop to move from our Parish to Greystanes before they came to fruition.
Fr Arthur Bridge replaced Fr Paul in September 2014. Parish members did enjoy the introduction of professional Opera singers to sing the liturgies at Easter and Christmas which he introduced.
In 2016 Fr Bridge took some long service leave and did not return to the Parish. An Administrator was appointed to our Parish in the person of Fr Suresh Kumar in August 2016. He was then moved to Glenmore Park as their Parish Priest in February 2017.
A further Administrator, Fr Jose Manjaly MS was appointed to our Parish and he remained for two years. During Fr Joe’s leadership, he made special efforts to support the various committees, i.e., Pastoral Council, Liturgy Committee, Hospitality Committee etc. An offer was received to sponsor the visit to the Diocese a first-class relic of St Anthony of Padua. This event took place on the 21st June 2017 and as a consequence Fr Joe was encouraged to request a permanent relic be pro-vided to the Parish.
This request was approved and on the 21st of June 2018 we received the relic ex Massa Corporis of St Anthony.
Fr Joe was eventually selected to lead the Penrith Parish and in February 2019 he was replaced by Fr Joby Kadambattu MS. He continued with the celebration of Mass and Novena to St Anthony on Tuesday evenings, which is considered to be St Anthony’s day
As a consequence of Fr Arthur Bridge’s retirement our new Bishop, Vincent Long, appointed Fr Joby as Parish Priest in August 2019.
Fr Joby quickly endeared himself to the Parishioners with his kind nature and friendly approach. Without delay he determined the need to lead alterations to our Church, which has been in discussion for a while, specifically to replace the carpet and also to highlight the Relic of St Anthony.
A meeting was held in relation to the wishes of Parishioners relative to renovations and a subcommittee was appointed. At the meeting of this subgroup in October 2019 planning was commenced. Unfortunately, due to the onset of the Corona Virus in early 2020 these plans have been brought to a halt. The intention in 2021 is to pick up again on these very important plans.
All the activities that have been outlined in this document were enabled by the enthusiastic participation of dedicated Parishioners. Members of the various prayer groups, Legion of Mary, Sacred Heart Sodality, Church Wardens and members of Pastoral Councils and Finance Committees have all played significant roles.
The enhancement of our Liturgies by vibrant Music Ministry has been a hall mark of our Parish. Tony Lette, our Music Director is to be congratulated along with all members of the various choirs and the musicians. Also, the members of Parish Staff over the last 70 years have all been indispensable.
It is hoped that the next 70 years will be as spiritually filled as the past 70.
All photos are from Parish or Diocesan resources Used with permission.

Think for a moment about Joseph finding a stable for Mary and the unborn Jesus. Think about - when Herod wanted to kill the baby Jesus - Joseph preparing an escape to Egypt. Like many people during this pandemic, think about how Joseph would have cared for his family in Egypt by finding food, shelter, and employment. Think about Joseph obediently taking his family back to Israel … then in response to a dream, escaping the infant Jesus’ persecutors by residing in Nazareth.

Pope Francis teaches us in his Apostolic Letter, ‘Patris Corde’, that these experiences tell of Joseph being a creatively courageous father. Joseph didn’t seek to change his situation; but accepted and embraced it. He did so by trusting in God’s plan – however nonsensical it may have seemed – and acting creatively to find solutions.

As Pope Francis wrote, “Often in life, things happen whose meaning we do not understand. Our first reaction is frequently one of disappointment and rebellion. Joseph set aside his own ideas in order to accept the course of events and, mysterious as they seemed, to embrace them, take responsibility for them and make them part of his own history.”

Jesus, Son of Joseph, as we journey towards your passion and resurrection in this continually unpredictable time, may you be our quiet guide. Show us how to accept our disappointments, to have compassion for ourselves, to trust in God’s grace and love, to embrace the challenging moments, and creatively take small courageous steps in our part of the baby Jesus’ mission. Amen.

This year marks the 150th anniversary of the proclamation of Saint Joseph as the Patron of the Universal Church. Let us then turn our thoughts to Saint Joseph as we complete our journey into the season of Lent.
Saint Teresa of Avila, the first woman to receive the title of ‘Doctor of the Church’, had an immense devotion to Saint Joseph. Saint Teresa, in her autobiography, reminds us that through our devotion to Saint Joseph, he will guide us to grow in holiness. She wrote: “I do not remember even now that I have ever asked anything of him which he has failed to grant. I am astonished at the great favours which God has bestowed on me through this blessed Saint Joseph, and at the perils from which He has freed me…”

On the other hand, Father Stanley Smolenski, an expert on the life of Saint Joseph, explained that “Saint Joseph is so united with the hearts of Jesus and Mary because they lived in the harmony of love; reflected on the harmony of love in the Trinity and the harmony of love in creation”.

Let us reflect on Saint Joseph as the beloved Father and Husband: - In this time of lent, examine our relationship with our parents, husband, wife, children, siblings, and extended families. Is there someone we need to forgive or ask for forgiveness? Is love, kindness, and generosity lacking within our family?

Today’s Gospel presents Jesus in a very different light to the Peaceful Preacher we are used to. He is not just the Gentle Jesus, meek and mild, but Someone of real passion, who expressed righteous anger when needed; A Force, who came not just to show us the Way, but shake us from our complacency and comfort.

The requirement for sacrifice at the Temple, with the need of pilgrims for a ready supply of animal victims, meant a market developed within the sacred space. An accepted social norm had crept in, distracting the Temple’s purpose: People’s attention had diverted from their relationship with God and each-other, and this situation was sanctioned by complacent religious authority. No wonder Jesus was angry!

In our spiritual and religious life, there is always the risk of comfort and complacency. We may feel we do enough, fulfil our obligation. We might be too concerned with getting rituals and pious practices right, that we are diverted from the Law of Love.

In our working, social and political lives, how often have we seen injustice go unchecked for the sake of some “economic imperative”, convenience or expediency?

Christ reminds us there are times for righteous anger.

Dear Inconvenient Lord Jesus, come and disturb our complacent comfort; Declutter the Temples of our hearts, clear the way to the Sanctuary- our mission to serve God through serving others, in word and deed, spirit and truth.
Amen