Whitsunday Parish - Proserpine

CALENDAR OF ACTIVITIES

28 NOV. Thursday 1130am – CWL Lunch  (Parish Hall)
02 DEC Monday 930am     – Companions Break-Up (Parish Hall)
14 DEC Saturday 6pm        – Parish Christmas Party (Proserpine)
21 DEC Saturday 830am    – Working Bee (Proserpine)
21 DEC Saturday 5pm        – 2^nd Rite of Reconciliation (St Catherine's Church, Proserpine) 
22 DEC Sunday 4pm         – St Martin’s Ecumenical Carols (Cannonvale)
29 DEC Sunday 8am         – Fr Shilbin’s  10^th Year  Ordination Anniversary  (St Catherine's Church, Proserpine) 

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CHRISTMAS MASS 2024

Tuesday  24th December 6pm  VIGIL MASS - St Martin's Church (Cannonvale)
Tuesday  24th December 8pm - St Catherine's Church (Proserpine)
Wednesday, 25th December 8am - CHRISTMAS DAY  - St Catherine's Church (Proserpine)
Wednesday, 25th December 6pm - CHRISTMAS DAY  - All Saints Chapel  (Hamilton Island)

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BAPTISM

Baptisms are held on the 1st  and 3rd  Sundays of the month at 11am at  St. Catherine's Church by appointment. 
Prior to Baptism parents are required to attend a Baptism Preparation, which is held every 3rd Wednesday of the month, 6pm or 1st Thursday of the month, 10am in the Parish Hall.
Bookings essential.

RCIA PROGRAM (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) 

The program prepares adults for the Sacraments which will have them initiated into the Catholic Church at Easter. 
Whitsunday Parish invites all who wish to join the program to contact the office.  The program will commence on the Lenten season and will be posted on the Newsletter.

Weddings in the Whitsundays

Weddings can be booked for either St Catherine's or St Martin's by appointment.

Our parish supports weddings on the islands:
All Saints Chapel (Hamilton Island),  Stella Maris Chapel (Hayman Island) and Endeavour Chapel  (Daydream Island)
Contact our parish office on (07) 4945 1025.

Programs in the Parish

• Sacramental Program - Please ring the Parish Office for information.
• When I was a Stranger is held at St. Martins on the last Sunday of the month after the evening Mass.
• Young Family  Mass is held on the First Sunday of every month at St. Catherine's @ 8.00am followed by a breakfast at the Parish Hall.
• Marian Devotion   every Wednesday at 7:30am in St.Catherine's Church for a novena, rosary followed by a mass.

Programs in the Parish

• Catholic Women's League (CWL) meets on the 4th Thursday of every month following the 10.00am Mass for their monthly meeting.
• Care & Concern Group meets every 3rd Thursday after the 10.00am Mass for a cup of coffee and chat.
• Companions on the Journey (this group is for widowed people) held every Monday 9.30am at St. Catherine's Parish Hall.
  
• Youth Ministry  meets at St Martin's Church at 5pm every third Sunday of each month beginning February 2025. Various activities and food sharing open for the whole youth members of the Whitsunday community.

The parish has various activities and programs to cater for all groups of people. For information, please contact the Parish Office.

Our Team

Parish Priest:         Fr. Shilbin Kurian, MCBS ( Administrator) 
Associate Priest:    Fr. Sylvester Emetuche
Parish Secretary:   Mariz Fletcher 
Office Assistants :  Mandy Ayers , Denise Sala, Joan Hughes, Alan White
Parish Mission Leadership Team:   Jill Farinelli
Parish Mission Council Chair:    Mandy Ayers
Parish Mission Finance Council Chair:  Chris Lane
St. Martin's Committee Chair:  Lynne Erricker  

Our Parish

If you are driving north, we are the southern-most parish of the Townsville Diocese. You cross the O'Connell River, about 20 km south of Proserpine, and you are in the boundaries of our parish and of our Diocese.

Our parish was founded in 1926, and today we have two churches. Saint Catherine's (pictured) is located in Proserpine, and was built in 1957. It is a grand old church, and is open for visits during working hours. Our patron saint is St. Catherine of Alexandria.

Our second church is St Martin's at Cannonvale.  It was opened in September 2002 - an exciting project, because we built it in partnership with the local Lutherans! Our church is also available to the Anglican Church, the Baptist Church and the Uniting Church who hold services here every Sunday. We are very proud of our new church, and its ecumenical implications.

Our parish is home for the rural sugar-cane community of Proserpine, the cattle properties and for the carefree fun-loving tourist communities of "the Beach"(Cannonvale / Airlie Beach) and the Islands. It's a very exciting place, combining both the old and the new.

We have a Parish Team, led by Fr Shilbin. We like to think we are a very hospitable and welcoming parish. If you are passing through, please stay and enjoy our hospitality.

Photo Gallery