AUS / HOLY SEE : New Domus Australia rector appointed

Msgr John Boyle will be the new rector of Domus Australia in Rome when he leaves St Bernadette’s Catholic Church at Castle Hill next month, reports the Hill Shire Times.

The Parramatta priest won’t say if his prayers have been answered but the 71-year-old, who has served as parish priest at St Bernadette’s for 11 years, was due to leave Castle Hill in August next year.

It was a dream come true when the job came up in Rome through the Archdiocese of Sydney.

The Domus Australia centre provides accommodation and other facilities for visitors to Rome and was officially opened in 2011 by Pope Benedict XVI as a centre for pilgrims.

Rector Msgr Boyle will hold Mass in English daily at the restored Chapel of St Peter Chanel within Domus Australia and will also be a liaison between the Holy See at the Vatican.

The initial appointment is for two years.

“It is a dream come true,” he said. “My use-by date is approaching.”

It is a welcome return to Msgr Boyle, who can speak fluent Italian after living in Rome for a year before being appointed to St Bernadette’s.

He has a love of history and Imperial Rome and is also a Master in Fine Arts, which will be useful as Domus Australia features a number of 19th and 20th century artworks as well as 32 artworks by Dural artist Paul Newton, who spent seven years on the works.

John Boyle grew up in Parramatta and was 18 when he joined the seminary and decided to be a priest. His family had always been volunteers.

“For me it was a form of community service,” he said.

Msgr Boyle will be conducting his last Sunday services on April 23 at St Bernadette’s, and will be at both the Parramatta Dawn service at 4.30am on Anzac Day and the Castle Hill Dawn Service on Anzac Day before flying to Rome the next day.