St Thomas More's Parish, Toowoomba |
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Contact: Fr Peter Dorfield, Priest Director |
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Pastoral Leader: Sr Patsy Grundy |
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| Phone: | 07 4635 9555 | ||
| Fax: | 07 4635 5742 | ||
| Office Location: | 71A Ramsay Street | Postal Address: | 71A Ramsay Street |
| Toowoomba | Toowoomba | ||
| Events: | Visit St Thomas More's Site for events. | ||
| Mass Times: | St Thomas More's Church |
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| Visit St Thomas More's Site for mass times. |
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History of St Thomas More's Parish:The seeds of St Thomas More Parish were sown in the 1950's in an old farm house in South Street. It was then Bishop of Toowoomba, Bishop Roper, who organised the purchase of the house and five acres of farmland in 1951. Bishop Roper blessed and dedicated this house to the English martyr St Thomas More, to whom Bishop Roper had ancestral connections. Throughout the 50's, a growing community gathered there to attend Sunday mass. In September 1960, St Thomas More's was officially declared a parish by Bishop Brennan. Father Bill Hall was appointed parish priest and was provided with a residence at Geddes Street. The foundation of the parish had been firmly established in the 1950's by Father Hall and his devoted band of parishioners, some of whom still attend mass here today. In January 1961, the parish welcomed the Sisters of St Joseph. Under the guidance of Sisters Finbar and Anna Maria classes commenced in the farm house, come church, come school! Conditions initially were primitive with church pews being used as desks and the children, sitting or kneeling on the kneelers. However, all this changed rapidly on 9 July, 1961, when a newly constructed church and convent were blessed and opened by Bishop Brennan. Again the church doubled as classrooms during the week and the farm house became the presbytery. In 1965, an army hut was purchased and sited in Ramsay St. It was extended and renovated and served as the church for the next twenty-six years. A brand new presbytery, adjacent to the church, was blessed and opened in July 1071. In 1979, Fr Hall left St Thomas More's to become parish priest at Allora. He left behind a flourishing parish and school, a great tribute to a true visionary. Fr Frank Leonard became parish priest and he continued the prosperity of the parish overseeing building projects in the school area. The 1988 school year commenced with the enrolment of over 400 students. Sadly in 1995, the sisters of St Joseph ceased their teaching role in the parish, however they are still represented in the life of the parish by Sisters Leonie Stortenbeker (one of the foundation sisters of STM) and Margaret Cusack. Father Frank guided the parish towards the construction of our current church which was blessed and opened in November, 1991. In 1999 Fr Frank retired to Lourdes Home, his forward thinking ministry leaving a strong imprint on the history of St Thomas More's. His going marked the end of the era of a permanent priest for the parish and a new way of parish life unfolded as St Thomas More's emerged as a leader in Toowoomba city with a new model of pastoral leadership. |
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