St Kevin’s Catholic Church
In 1946 the new parish of Narrabeen was formed and in 1959 Narraweena became the
centre of another new parish. The parishes of Dee Why and Narraweena were amalgamated on 1st July 2009, forming the new Catholic Parish of Warringah. The first church in Dee Why was built in 1923. The Parish of St. Kevin was established in 1928 when it was detached from Manly. The church was blessed by Cardinal Gilroy on the 29 April 1962. The original school and convent were built in the following years; they were all small wooden buildings. At the time the Dee Why Parish extended to Palm Beach.
In April 1965 the benevolence of Cardinal Gilroy, Archbishop of Sydney, offered the parish of St. Kevin to the Scalabrini Fathers. The Scalabrini Fathers, so called because of the name of their Founder, Bishop Scalabrini, saw their origin as a Religious Congregation in 1887. Their scope is to follow migrants, assisting them spiritually and socially.
The present Parish Priest is Father Restituto Ogsimer cs. He and his assistant priests look after the many migrants among the parish, including the Italian, Filipino, Brazilian, Spanish, Korean and Dutch background. Though appropriate that they should give assistance to the migrants of the district, the Priests are focused on the spiritual welfare of all Catholic families of both communities in the parish.
Parish Priests
St. Kevin's Parish has been fortunate because we have had the opportunity to meet and work with many Priests over the years. These Priests, from many different countries and different backgrounds, have enriched the community of St. Kevin's Parish. The following is an attempt to outline the Priests that have helped shaped the parish's life over the years: Fr Farrell was the first parish priest in 1928, then Frs. Morris, Parker
and O’Neil till 1965. Fr John Pagnin & Fr.Luigi Asteguo were the first Scalabrini priests followed by Fr. Graziano Tassello, Fr. Emilio Vaccaro, Fr. Antonio Dal Bello, Fr.
Saveroi Cinquetti, Fr. John Raccanello, Fr. Georgio Baggio Fr.
Tizziano Martellozzo, Fr.
Corrando Martellozzo, Fr. Dino Torresan, Fr. Barran Blaise, Fr. Bruno Ciceri, Fr. Tiziano Martellozzo, Fr. Lauro, Fr. Anthony, Fr. John Mello, Fr. Vittorio Basso, Fr Lauro Rufo, Fr Tiziano Torresan, Fr Reinaldo Vassoler and our current Parish Priest Fr Restituto Ogsimer cs.
St John the Apostle Catholic Church
St John Narraweena. As the Parish expanded the Kindergarten at Coster Place, Frenchs Forest was used as a Mass Centre from Sunday 14th
April, 1963. Fr. Bill Vogt was appointed Parish Priest on the 18th August 1964 and he was very involved in the building of the new Church…a very humble priest, loved by all. Then as the Parish continued to grow St. John’s school was used for Sunday Mass, the school classrooms were converted to a hall for Sunday Mass and back to classrooms for Monday morning.The Parish of St. John’s Narraweena was formed on the 5th August 1959 and Fr. John Grady was the first Parish Priest. Mass was held in the Progress Association Hall at Narraweena. Two years later, on the
10th December, 1961 the Church School was opened and blessed. St. John’s school started with 75 pupils who were taught by Brigidine Sisters with Mother M. Borgia as the first principal.
The Parish Priests since Fr. Vogt has been Fr. John Doherty, Fr. Noel Carroll, Fr. Clem Tierney, Fr. Robert Crawford, Fr. William Aliprandi, Fr. Jim McKeon, Fr Rex Curry, Fr. Joseph Pattakandam ( from India), Fr Vittorio Basso, Fr Lauro Rufo, Fr Tiziano Torresan, Fr Reinaldo Vassoler c.s and Fr Restituto Ogsimer who is our present caring shepherd. In 2009 Narraweena was twinned with Dee Why and Fr. Vittorio became the parish priest. Assistant Priests have been Fr. Alex Sciberras, Fr. Steven Hume, Fr Shaju and Fr Joy (both on loan from India), Fr Emmanuel Chuntic, Fr Franciscus Yangminta. Our current Assistant Priests at the parish are Fr Jose Guitierrez & Fr Savino Bernardi c.s
The Church, which was opened and blessed on the 8th September 1974, seats 550 people. The wooden statues of Mary and St. John were bought by Fr. John Grady. The
colourful statue of Jesus is on loan from the SS. Salvatore Association. Some of the original Italian migrants moved the statue of St. Rocco from the Church at Brookvale when it closed. The Stations of the Cross were drawn by Toni Byrne and created by Sula Moss. The artwork on the back wall was a creation by a then year 12 student - Jimi May. The Mosaic Altar Piece was designed and created by Toni Byrne as were the backgrounds
for the beautiful wooden statues of Mary and St. John.