IT has stood the test of time and now St Agnes' Church will celebrate its 75th anniversary.
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The church is the focal point for all Catholics in the local region as well as visitors, serving as the mother church for six other churches and chapels spread from Lord Howe Island, Lake Cathie to Telegraph Point.
Parish priest Father Leo Donnelly says the Parish of St Agnes' community is invited to help celebrate the 75th milestone.
"We are holding our normal masses over the weekend with the 75th anniversary being the focus for the weekend," Fr Donnelly said.
"We would love to see all our parishioners attend, new, old and visitors; everyone is welcome.
"There will be social morning teas, or a barbeque on the Sunday evening, held after each mass with the main mass hosted on Sunday morning at 9am, followed by a celebration morning tea and cutting of the cake."
The celebrations will centre on Hay Street.
The weekend church services include - Saturday - 6pm Vigil supper, provided by the American Association; Sunday - 7.30am coffee; 9am morning tea and Anniversary cake; 5pm youth barbeque.
The Catholic Parish of St Agnes became part of the Lismore Diocese in 1887, just 67 years after the founding of the penal colony in Port Macquarie.
From humble beginnings where Mass was celebrated in the guards room situated outside the large convict gaol, which was built in the 1830's and located just off Clarence Street, to the erection of the first Church in 1868 at Rawdon Villa, this was later replaced by a church on the O'Connor property at Rawdon Island.
Then in 1878, the first St Agnes' Church was built in Port Macquarie on Church Hill, where it served the rapidly growing Catholic Community for 63 years.
It was soon evident that this small wooden structure would not cater for the local community now resident in Port Macquarie and the growing number of tourist and holiday makers now travelling to the area, so a new Church was planned.
In the late 1930s Fr Patrick O'Mahony was the priest in charge of St Agnes Parish and he organised fund raisers such as the annual Catholic Ball and set up a chocolate wheel on the green, manned by volunteers, to ensure the debt for the church was paid off quickly. The Bishop of the time, Bishop John Caroll patted Fr O'Mahony's shoulder and said, 'Take courage in your hand Pat and build a new Church.' However, due to illness Fr O'Mahony was not up to this task. He was replaced by Fr John Curran who took on the task of building the new church and cleaning up the neglected grounds. The interior of the church had been beautifully kept by the Sisters of St Joseph and needed to be replaced. Father Curran wasted no time in setting up a fund raising drive, with the usual chocolate wheels, raffles, housie and talent quests, with goal for the new church to be built free of debt.
On August 11 1940, the last Mass was held in the old church. No time was wasted in demolishing this old church, with Mass being said in the school until the new church was opened.
As with all developments, the building of the new Church had its difficulties in the early stages.
The Mayor at the time, Mayor Ryan, decided that the grounds were valuable and therefore set about resuming it for Council. However, Father Curran travelled to Sydney and had this action stopped.
Bishop John Carroll DD laid and blessed the foundation stone in October 1940. The Church was then opened on March 2, 1941 with a host of dignitaries including Bishops, Patrick Farrelly, Edmund Gleeson and Thomas McCabe, and many priests and ministers from other denominations, as well as, important guests from the local area.
In his homily at Solemn Pontifical Mass, Bishop Edmund Gleeson, Bishop of Maitland said 'My eyes shall be open and my ears shall be attentive to the prayer of him that shall pray in this place. For I have chosen and sanctified this place that my name may be here for ever and my heart may remain in here perpetually ... God's eyes and heart will be more readily here ... His care of you within these walls will be more fatherly, his blessing more generous, your power with Him inconceivably greater than was ever dreamt of as regards the Temple of Jerusalem.'
Bishop Gleeson further explained, that St Agnes, the titular Saint of the new Church, would make the preaching and the practices of religion within its walls fruitful and sanctifying. She would direct her help towards two special points, the cultivation of a strong faith among the parishioners and one of a purity truly Christian.
"A grand example was she of these virtues. No matter what the threat of punishment was, St Agnes would not turn back on her religion. She declared it openly, she preached it in the midst of the flames and while the pagans were scoffing it," Bishop Gleeson said.