Parishioners of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart parish in Alice Springs celebrated the Feast of Christ the King by coming together for Mass and then gathering at the historic Telegraph Station for a fun family picnic and barbecue.

They were celebrating the end of the Year of Mercy and the beginning of the Year of the Family which is taking place across the Diocese of Darwin as a way of responding to Pope Francis’ apostolic letter Amoris Laetitia.

Parish Priest, Fr Asaeli Raass SVD, says the parish family gathering was a wonderful occasion.
“It was really good,” he says. “It was a beautiful day and it was just so good to see people come together for Mass and then a picnic and barbecue and a sing-a-long and activities. It was great.”

Fr Raass says the parish already has plans underway to take part in the Darwin Dioceses’ Year of the Family.

“We’re planning some things in line with the document from Pope Francis,” he says.

“One of the things we’ll be doing is establishing a Family Team in the parish who will be supporting young families, young couples and people with different lifestyles.

“We’re also looking forward to doing some outreach by visiting all the Catholic families who have not been coming to Church for a while.

“This kind of outreach is so important, especially out here because we are so remote and we have so many remote communities who we need to reach out to and let them know they’re not forgotten.”

Fr Raass says this family outreach will even include visits to the vast outback cattle stations.

“We just want to tell them that the Church still cares for them, even if we’ve stuffed it up sometimes. We still want to reach out.”

Apart from the visitations, the parish will also look at different ways to promote Mission in the parish throughout the coming year.