The Parish of
Ballarat North
Churches
-
St Columba's
Corner of Lydiard & Gregory Street, Ballarat North
Presbytery
Postal & Street Address:
306 Gregory Street
Ballarat North VIC 3350
Phone
53311012
Email
ballaratnorth@ballarat.catholic.org.au
School Link
http://www.scballarat.catholic.edu.au/
ATTENDING MASS:
(Subject to Government regulations)
Please DO NOT attend if you are feeling unwell. You will need to wear your mask inside the Church.
Church capacity: 125
Daily Mass:
10.00am Mass Wednesdays – you do not need to preregister for this Mass.
Please register your details on the ‘Contact Tracing Register’
as you enter.
Weekend Mass:
Saturday evening Vigil at 5pm
At this stage you no longer need to pre-register for the Saturday evening Mass. When you arrive for Mass, please confirm your attendance on the ‘Contact Tracing Register’, or scan the QR Code on the door, then use the Hand Sanitizer provided before entering the Church. Please sit in an allocated place.
(Please arrive early as we are required to lock the Church doors promptly before Mass begins)
Parish Office
Hours Tuesday 9-12 noon and Wednesday, Thursday, Friday 9am – 1pm Phone Email For pastoral, Baptism and Sacramental inquiries please email or telephone Judith for updated information – see contact details above. |
Address 306 Gregory Street, Ballarat North (behind the Church follow the yellow footprints) New Baptism details and schedule are available from the office. The next Baptism Preparation session will be in February. Please ring to register. Baptisms take place during the 5pm Saturday vigil. Sacraments for 2021 have yet to be advertised. We will advise details as soon as they come to hand. |
Mass Times
Saturday evening Mass 5pm | Wednesday Mass 10am |
Latest Parish Bulletin - 22 Jan 2021
Read More View ArchivesOur Parish
Welcome to St Columba’s Parish. Our church is located on the corner of Lydiard & Gregory Street, Ballarat North.
School
St Columba’s Primary School
History
- On 31st January, 1911, St. Columba’s School was opened for students and was staffed by Sisters of Mercy who travelled each day from Ballarat East. Because the Bishop was away at the time, the official blessing and opening took place later that year.
- Ballarat North community had its own church in 1919 when a wooden church, which had been built about 1892 as the original chapel of the Redemptorist Monastery in Wendouree, was moved to the site on Gregory Street, alongside the existing primary school.
- The present church was built in its original form in 1940, and the former wooden church became part of the primary school, originally used as classrooms and later as an assembly hall. There it stayed until 2007 when the school’s needs demanded not only the space but a more up-to-date area for school assemblies and other functions.
- The 1940 church underwent extensive refurbishment in the years after Vatican II, allowing a more open and simple arrangement while respecting the intrinsic beauty of the original building.
- Later still, an entrance foyer was added, not only to serve as a gathering (and de-briefing!) space, but also to allow for the various parish meetings.
- The stained glass windows in the church are neither spectacular nor lavish, but they are rich in symbols from both the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament.
- Although the parish community had a distinct identity of its own from 1911, Ballarat North did not officially become a parish until 1971. The presbytery at the rear of the church was actually built before then (1958), and served as a residence for a number of priests who were engaged in various ministries in Ballarat and beyond.
- Many of the parishioners who have lived in the area for many years have fond memories of the pastors who served as their parish priests: Fathers Boylan, Martin, van de Camp and Brophy. In 2002 when Fr. Brophy was moved to Mildura, the parish lost the ministry of a resident priest, was then administered from St. Patrick’s Cathedral until it came under the care of Father Gerard Prunty, Administrator of both OLHC Wendouree and St Columba’s. The community has retained a strong identity of its own.
- Mass is celebrated at 6pm on Saturday evenings, and 10am on Sunday mornings. A regular group of parishioners warmly welcomes you on Wednesday mornings at 9.30am for Mass in the Church foyer.
Personnel
Parish Priest Fr Marcello Colasante (Fr Marcello is also Parish Priest of Wendouree Parish and Administrator of Beaufort Parish) Email: ballaratnorth@ballarat.catholic.org.au |
Pastoral Associate Judith O’Sullivan |
Safeguarding Officer Mr Peter Marquand If you wish to contact Peter, please send any information via the Parish email or postal address marked for his attention and we will ensure he receives it. |
Parish Pastoral Council Judy Brown Georgina Hinchey Diane Cowie Rudi van der Voort Shaun Mohr (School Co Principal) Bambi Afford (School Co Principal) Judith O’Sullivan (Pastoral Associate) Torie Waight (School RE co-ordinator) |
Resources
SAFEGUARDING INFORMATION:
Safeguarding: Risk Management checklist
Parish Pastoral Council Guidelines 2017
OH&S POLICIES: