19 March 2009

Saint Josephs rises from the ashes

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Great to see the ABC report that despite some idiot attempting to destroy it, Saint Joseph’s Church in O’Connor is back in all its glory.

Not a Bible thumper myself, but it is a funky building and the stained glass is stunning.

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The “some” and “ill-gotten” were of course references to the gambling aspect.

Glad that the story had some basis in truth 🙂

What? No anti-religion comments? So much love…

That’s so cute, willo!

: )

i grew up a few hundred metres away from this church…..good to see it back i seem to recall that the winning tatts ticket was a gift to the priest from a parishioner…i was present when it was officially opened….all of 7 yrs old

Good to see that particular church back. One of my Brothers funeral was held there in ’83. It is a nice church.

Holden Caulfield10:06 pm 19 Mar 09

Looked like a packed house there tonight!

It was the whole church. 1973, I think.

As the Archbishop said in his homily this evening, only a Catholic church could possibly be built from the proceeds of a Tattslotto win.

He also recollected that three years ago or so the parish priest was severely bashed on the front steps of the church. And then his church burns down. Really quite amazing he’s still going strong.

xman said :

Any truth in the story that this church was originally funded from a Tattslotto win by the Parish Priest? He’d apparently hidden the win from the Parish at large but was eventually found out. My father told me this and I don’t know if I should believe it or not – he’s a long time Canberra resident, but also a notorious bull-shite artist.

Some might say the fire was just desserts for ill-gotten gains.

It’s true – but it wasn’t a secret. It happened in the early 1980s, and I think he funded the stained glass windows, not the whole church.

Can anyone seriously doubt the Church’s ability to accept a donation?

That’s kind of romantic. I like stories like that.

Yep, +1 on the story being true.

VG some charities (Salvos / Vinnies etc) won’t accept donations stemming from lotto wins, as they don’t condone gambling.

barking toad5:12 pm 19 Mar 09

Just wondering xman, who would those ‘some’ be?

Or have we taken you out of context.

So how is that an ‘ill gotten gain’ though?

Holden Caulfield4:51 pm 19 Mar 09

xman, your dad’s story about the Tatts win is correct. Although, I hadn’t heard the bit about the Priest trying to hide the winnings. But the church itself (or part thereof) was funded by a Tatts win.

No doubt the story is bollocks, but if it wasn’t riddle me how a Tatts win is an ‘ill gotten gain’?

Any truth in the story that this church was originally funded from a Tattslotto win by the Parish Priest? He’d apparently hidden the win from the Parish at large but was eventually found out. My father told me this and I don’t know if I should believe it or not – he’s a long time Canberra resident, but also a notorious bull-shite artist.

Some might say the fire was just desserts for ill-gotten gains.

True, it is a funky building and reminds me of the church on the cover of the Chemical Brothers’ remix album.

And today is the feast of St. Joseph.

The original design was created by Kevin J. Curtin who was raised in Canberra and went on to build a very successful architectural business.

“In 1953, he established his own architectural practice in Sydney and later a branch in Canberra. His affiliation with the Catholic Church led to commissions for more than 50 new churches and chapels and over 200 school projects. For these contributions, he was awarded a Papal Medal” ( from his obituary – sorry I don’t know how to do italics here)

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