Fr Prakash Menezes SVD says his return to Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Parish in Alice Springs feels like “coming home”, as it was the first parish he was assigned to as a Divine Word Missionary more than five years ago.
Back then, Fr Prakash was in Alice Springs as assistant priest, but last month, he returned to be installed as Parish Priest.
“It does feel like coming home,” he says. “This was my first mission and so I know many of the people and they have been so welcoming to me since I arrived back here as Parish Priest.”
Fr Prakash has spent the last two-and-a-half years as Parish Priest of Santa Teresa, an Aboriginal community about 90km from Alice Springs.
He succeeds Fr Asaeli Rass as Parish Priest of Alice Springs. Fr Rass has moved to Sydney after being elected Provincial of the SVD AUS Province.
Fr Prakash was officially installed as Parish Priest on February 16 by Darwin Bishop Charles Gauci.
“It was a combined Mass, with our whole parish community invited and there were a good number of people present,” Fr Prakash says.
“It was a good opportunity to be with all the people.”
Before processing into the church for Mass, members of the Parish Council presented Fr Prakash with a stole painted by the indigenous community.
After the homily, he was officially installed by Bishop Charles. He was also appointed Episcopal Vicar of the Southern Region of the Diocese of Darwin, a role his predecessors at Alice Springs had also fulfilled.
Fr Prakash says that following on from the big Jubilee celebrations in the parish last year, he and the Parish Council had been planning a year of spiritual renewal.
“We had been planning a time of quietening down, taking it easy, slowing down after the big year of celebrations last year,” he says. “Little did we know that the coronavirus would hit and we would be forced into a much deeper quietening than we had imagined.
“With churches closed under the government regulations to fight the spread of the virus, Fr Ollie and myself are doing everything we can to stay in touch with our people, including livestreaming Mass each day on Facebook.
“It is also the Year of the Word of God, so this period of social distancing will allow us all to focus on the Word of God in our homes and in that way, to really seek to bring it alive here in our parish.”
Fr Prakash says that in months to come, after the virus restrictions have been lifted, he is looking forward to settling into life in his new, large, multicultural community.
“Alice Springs is a big, vibrant parish with a wonderful indigenous community and people from every part of the world,” he says.
“My main aim, and the aim of the parish, is to make sure everyone feels at home here.”
PHOTOS: Kathlyn McGargill.