St Mark’s Catholic Parish in Inala is well-known for its multicultural richness, and that cultural diversity underpins the faith life and missionary outreach of the parish community.
The relationship between St Mark’s parish and the Divine Word Missionaries goes all the way back to the start when Fr Aloysius Kasprus SVD was appointed the first parish priest in 1956.
The parish’s history records show that Fr Kasprus’ house was also the Mass Centre and parish office. In the first years of the parish there was such a shortage of space that during the celebration of Mass some parishioners would be sitting on the edge of Fr Kasprus’ bath while others outside looked in through the windows.
Today, the parish is a large, vibrant and multicultural community with people from a large range of cultural backgrounds including people from Vietnam, Tonga, Samoa and other Pacific islands, the Philippines, India, Sri Lanka, Africa, South America and Australia, including First Nations peoples.
Parish Priest, Fr Boni Buahendri SVD says the makeup of the parish is a living sign of unity in diversity.
“St Mark’s is known as the house of migrants and refugees,” Fr Boni says. “I myself, as a missionary, am also a migrant, so we connect well in our ministry and mission.”
This unity in diversity forms the centrepiece of one of the parish’s biggest days of the year when the St Mark’s community celebrates Multicultural Sunday. On this day, parishioners are encouraged to wear their national dress. The Gospels are carried in with a traditional Tongan procession and the Offertory Gifts brought in with Samoan dancers, while other cultural groups take part in readings, prayers of the faithful and singing. After Mass, there is a shared multicultural meal and entertainment.
Fr Boni says other special days in the parish calendar include a Marian Mass in the months of May and October, a Corpus Christi procession, Christmas Carols and the Filipino Christmas celebration of Santo Nino, as well as celebration of the SVD’s Mission Sunday.
There are parish groups for the Over 50’s, Liturgy, Bible Study, Scripture Study, Couples for Christ, and RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults).
Devotions include Rosary Groups in English and Vietnamese and Divine Mercy (Vietnamese and Samoan).
A Parish Pastoral Council and Finance Group work together with Fr Boni, and the parish’s outreach includes a Care and Concern Group, Hospitality Group and St Vincent de Paul conference which assists those in need in the local community. The Legion of Mary also visits the sick.
Vietnamese Groups include Dominican Laity, Cursillo Group, Catholic Mothers Group, and Charismatic Group.
St Mark’s also reaches out to its young members with Youth Groups and Youth for Christ.
The Samoan and Tongan communities also gather together. And, each year there is an altar servers outing and a seniors’ pilgrimage to the Marian Valley shrine.
One of the distinctive features of the liturgical life at St Mark’s is the wonderful music.
“We have great choirs and music during our liturgy,” says Fr Boni. “Especially at those special celebrations in the parish.
“We also try to put some cultural aspects into our liturgy. For example, we start Mass with a Welcome to Country and a smoking ceremony by our First Nations people, a Gospel procession by the Tongan community, offertory by the Samoan community, prayers of the faithful in many different languages, and liturgical dancing by the parish youth group or members of the African, Vietnamese or Filipino community.
“Those cultural music groups really come and combine beautifully together at our annual Multicultural Mass, the Christmas Carols, Christmas Midnight Mass and Easter morning Masses and celebrations.”
Fr Boni says St Mark’s Catholic Primary School is a central part of the parish life.
“We are connected so well with our St Mark’s Primary School,” he says. “We have weekly class Masses at the church as well as Masses for the opening and closing of the school year, a graduation Mass and Christmas and Easter school Masses.
“We attend the school assemblies, and the School Principal is a member of our Parish Council.”
St Mark’s also opens its sacramental programs to all public schools around Inala.
The parish reaches out into the broader community in a variety of ways, participating in an annual Ecumenical Christmas Carols and a combined Lunar New Year celebration with the Vietnamese Catholic community in Brisbane.
The parish is just finalising an important new initiative, the St Mark’s Parish Inala Strategic Plan 2024-2028.
“In teamwork with the Evangelisation Brisbane office of the Archdiocese of Brisbane, we set up a new vision and mission for the parish, creating six different ministerial areas with leaders,” Fr Boni said.
“The six areas are liturgy, children and family, youth and young adults, faith formation, parish and hospitality, care and outreach.
“By having this new Strategic Plan program, we aim at having more missionary outreach and empowering more new lay leaders in the Church, by giving them some rooms and areas of ministry in the parish and asking them to be involved in planning some concrete activities for the parish in the next five years.
“I believe that by doing so, we are helping the St Mark’s Parish to become more mission-minded and to team up more with the lay leaders in the Church.”
The new Strategic Plan will be launched, and the six leaders will be commissioned on September 8.
Fr Boni says there are many things about the St Mark’s Parish community that he loves, but the one that stands out is its cultural diversity.
“I always believe that culture is the language of God,” he says.
“It is a challenge but also a gift which I have come to appreciate and respect by adding aspects of different cultures into our liturgy and my ministry in the parish.”
He says he hopes the new Strategic Plan will support the parish to grow in many ways, including its mission focus.
“I can see possibilities for inviting more volunteers or lay missionaries into our mission activities or involving them in some aspects of the SVD charism such as Bible study, mission animation, care for the poor, migrants and asylum-seekers in this wounded world,” he says.
“We are all missionaries on the move for God’s mission.”
PHOTOS
TOP RIGHT: Children perform cultural dance at the annual Multicultural Mass at St Mark's, Inala.
MIDDLE LEFT: The Corpus Christi procession is an important event on the parish calendar.
MIDDLE RIGHT: The African choir is part of the parish's rich musical tradition, seen here performing at the Christmas Carols event.
BOTTOM LEFT: Parishioners from the Philippines at the annual Santo Nino celebration.