Good News for the Clyde North Parish community
It all began back on Sunday 8 July 2012, where a Foundation Mass was held in the Diocese of Sale for a new Parish in Clyde North. Named St Thomas the Apostle, after the local Primary School, and with just 30 founding members, fast forward 11 years to Sunday 23 April 2023, the doors of a brand-new St Thomas the Apostle Church were finally opened to a bustling community of over 1,000 people.
Parish Priest, Fr Denis, photographed by CDF in 2018, holding the St Thomas the Apostle Church master-plans ahead of construction commencing.
The dedication and blessing ceremony for the new Church building was celebrated with parishioners, local Bunurong Elders, founding Parish Priest Fr Denis O’Bryan, Bishop of Sale Gregory Bennet and Archbishop of Adelaide Patrick O’Regan (former Bishop of Sale). The proceedings not only marked the beginning of a new chapter for the parish community but also a sign of new life and growth for the Diocese of Sale who welcomed the new Church opening – one of the few of its kind in 40 years.
"...now it is about building the real Church:
The People of God."
Fr Denis O'Bryan
The community procession ahead of the Dedication and Blessing of St Thomas the Apostle Church.
For over a decade, parishioners were helping to set-up and pack-down Masses in classrooms at St Peter’s College in Cranbourne. Now with a new Church building, Parish Priest Fr Denis O’Bryan says, “the new building is the enabler to bring our Parish together. For almost 11 years, we were restricted in how many we could have at Mass, so many went to other parishes, or maybe not at all. So now it is about building the real Church: The People of God.”
The $6 million Church building project, part-funded by CDF, will accommodate over 450 people at each Mass in the worship space, with room for an additional 200 in adjoining overflow areas. “Our Mass attendances have almost doubled within weeks of moving into the new Church building. On Good Friday we had over 1,100 people attend the afternoon Liturgy. We also have many parishioners re-join now that the building works are complete; this is precisely why Churches are crucial to our Mission of Evangelisation,” says Fr Denis.
List of Services
Fr Denis, finally opening the new Church doors.
"We also have many parishioners re-join now that the building works are complete; this is precisely why Churches are crucial to our Mission of Evangelisation..."
Fr Denis O'Bryan
The growing community has approximately 2,000 families registered as parishioners; however, the population growth is set to rise from 70,000 to more than 150,000 in the next decade alone.
Fr Denis says, “We are now able to start planning a whole range of ministries and services which were restricted for some time due to the lack of physical space. Simple things like meetings, workshops and prayer groups are now possible. The adjoining St Thomas Primary School and St Peter’s College have been very generous in the lead-up to the Church opening, and we are proud to now welcome them to our Church for various school Masses and Sacraments.” 
"To put it simply: there would not have been any building program without CDF. Our future was enabled, and we are very grateful for the CDF loan.”
“We have realised just how much the new Church serves as an identity for the Parish. Whilst most felt that they belonged to the parish, it is not easy when our main Worship environment is a set of converted classrooms,” says Fr Denis. “To put it simply: there would not have been any building program without CDF. Our future was enabled, and we are very grateful for the CDF loan.”
Bishop of Sale Gregory Bennet greeting Parishioners after Mass.
To help CDF continue to meet strong loan demand from the Catholic community, you too can put your faith in action and save for a greater reward than money alone. Not only will you earn a competitive rate of interest, but your savings will assist parishes like St Thomas the Apostle and other Catholic organisations to continue the work the Gospel calls on them to do. Learn more and apply today.
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CDPF Limited, a company established by the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, has indemnified the Catholic Development Fund ABN 15 274 943 760 (the Fund) against any liability arising out of a claim by investors in the Fund. In practice, this means your investment is backed by the assets of the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne. The Fund is required by law to make the following disclosure. Investment in the Fund is only intended to attract investors whose primary purpose for making their investment is to support the charitable purposes of the Fund. Investors’ funds will be used to generate a return to the Fund that will be applied to further the charitable works of the Archdiocese of Melbourne and the Dioceses of Sale and Bunbury. The Fund is not prudentially supervised by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority nor has it been examined or approved by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). An investor in the Fund will not receive the benefit of the financial claims scheme or the depositor protection provisions in the Banking Act 1959 (Cth). The investments that the Fund offers are not subject to the usual protections for investors under the Corporations Act (Cth) or regulation by ASIC. Investors may be unable to get some or all of their money back when the investor expects or at all and investments in the Fund are not comparable to investments with banks, finance companies or fund managers. The Fund’s identification statement may be viewed here or by contacting the Fund. The Fund does not hold an Australian Financial Services Licence.
