His smile radiates joy, his sermons quietly encourage Star of the Sea parishioners to be “fishers of men”, but Father Paul Mahony sm, Gladstone’s new parish priest, is far more than a dedicated priest - he is a missionary priest who has worked long and hard with the impoverished people of Brazil, enriching the lives of the illiterate, the homeless and prisoners.

He said it was a privilege to have been called to serve the church in a challenging environment and was also touched to see how faith played such an important role in the lives of the poor and those in prison.

“In Brazil, the cities are huge and the cities’ population is constantly increasing as people migrate from the countryside in search of work.

“We set up literacy programs to help underprivileged Brazilians, and we worked hard to teach the people not to allow themselves to be exploited. There was a strong social justice focus in our work” Father Paul said.

During his tenure, the church and the St Vincent de Paul Society worked tirelessly to help the homeless and those people who survived by gathering any type of recyclable objects off the streets.

But Father Mahony shrugs off this amazing achievement. “I had nice people around me and the Brazilian people had a strong faith.”

Prior to his service in Brazil, Father Paul initially served as a priest at Star of the Sea Parish before becoming Vocations Director for the Marist order for four years. Two more years in Gladstone followed his term as Vocations Director and then came his eleven years in Sao Paulo.

On his return to Australia in 1996 he was appointed as a chaplain to Brisbane’s Greenslopes Hospital and the Royal Brisbane Women’s Hospital. “It was a very rich ministry. It was very, very different,” Father Paul said.

He is enthusiastic about his new appointment to The Star of The Sea Parish, based in Gladstone.

“My sincere wish is to be a happy and effective Marist priest serving the people of Star of the Sea Parish. I want to be a good shepherd and be an integral part of the lives of my parishioners,” he said.

His priestly commitment will also include celebrating Masses in Rockhampton and Biloela in Portuguese for the many South American-born Catholics in those areas.

Father Paul has a simple dream - to play a little golf in his spare time.

Gladstone’s other new priest, Father Bernie McFadyen, attributes his strong commitment to his Catholic faith and his priestly vocation to an ever-deepening understanding of the Scriptures.

“The catalyst for my dedication to unlocking the Scriptures was a mission priest’s comment. In the past years many enlightening books of Biblical interpretation have become available and these have enriched my understanding,” he said.

An experienced priest and teacher, Father Bernie served in both capacities at Woodlawn College, Lismore, Marist Regional College, Burnie and Holy Spirit College, Wollongong.

He values his time as a teaching priest and always quoted his philosophy to his students: “Do the best you can in the time that you have”. He is proud that former students have quoted this maxim back to him.

In 1988, Father Bernie was appointed full-time to parish work at The Gap in Brisbane, and this appointment was followed by many years of pastoral work at Burnie, West Sunshine, and, again, in Burnie before his call to ministry in Gladstone and surrounding areas.

While in Gladstone, Father Bernie plans to celebrate all liturgical ceremonies with reverence, support Star of the Sea parishioners as individuals and serve as a committed chaplain to Star of the Sea and St John primary schools.

He is looking forward to meeting all those involved in parish groups and already, in early February, has attended a meeting of the Mission to Seamen Committee and has met all the members of the Gladstone Council of Clergy.

He is very happy to serve in Gladstone but has a simple hope - that the weather cools down!

Welcome, Fathers Bernie and Paul, and all parishioners look forward to your support in our faith journey.

Anne Fitzgerald