With the easing of some Covid-19 restrictions and with up to 150 people now able to attend Mass in person at churches throughout Victoria, the Filipino Catholic Chaplaincy of Melbourne is happy to announce the resumption of the Celebration of Masses in various Filipino Communities.
The Filipino Chaplaincy is looking forward to celebrating Masses with the Filipino Communities especially as we usher the Season of Advent and prepare for the great Christmas Day.
The traditional Simbang Gabi (Dawn Masses), a nine-day Masses preparing for Christmas (from Dec 16-24), will be celebrated considering the numbers of attendees and other restrictions based on the COVID-safe plan designed by every parish.
The Simbang Gabi is celebrated in the following Churches in Victoria
Hoppers Crossing
St Peter the Apostle Mission Parish
38 Guinane Avenue, Hoppers Crossing, Victoria 3029
16-24 Dec 2020 | 5.00 am
BOOKING REQUIRED
St Albans South
Holy Eucharist Parish
1A Oleander Drive, St Albans South, VIC
16-24 Dec 2020 | 5.00 am
Fitzroy North
St Brigid’s Church
378 Nicholson Street, Fitzroy North, VIC
15 Dec-23 Dec | 7.30 pm
Lalor
St Luke’s Church
1A David St., Lalor, VIC
16-24 Dec | 5.00 am
Deer Park
St Peter Chanel Catholic Church
848 Ballarat Road, Deer Park, VIC
16-24 Dec | 5.00 am
Berwick
St Michael’s Parish
129 High Street, Berwick, VIC
15 Dec-23 Dec | 7.30 pm
Cranbourne
St Agatha’s Parish
129 Sladen Street, Cranbourne, Victoria 3977
16-24 Dec | 5.00 am
BOOKING REQUIRED
Frankston
St Francis Xavier
Davey St., Frankston, VIC
16-24 Dec | 5.00 am
Maidstone
Holy Family Parish
46 Ballarat Road, Maidstone, VIC
16-24 Dec | 5.00 am
Bendigo
St Kilian’s Parish
161 McCrae St., Bendigo, VIC
16-24 Dec | 5.30 am
Resumption of the following devotions
- Mother of Perpetual Help Devotion, Novena and Mass every Wednesday at St Brigid’s Church, 378 Nicholson St., Fitzroy North @ 7:30PM.
- Poong Hesus Nazareno (Jesus the Black Nazarene), Mass every Second Friday at St Mary Star of the Sea, 33 Howard St., West Melbourne @ 7:30PM
- Our Lady of Penafrancia Devotion, Novena and Mass every First Saturday (starting Feb 2021) at Holy Family Church, 46 Ballarat Rd, Maidstone @ 2:30PM
Filipino Masses on Sundays usually held at different parishes are not yet fully opened.
Parish Churches that have allowed Filipino Masses to resume
- St Andrew’s Church, 76 Spring Rd., Clarinda (South Clayton) every First Sunday @ 1PM
- Our Lady’s Church, 171 Craigieburn Rd., Craigieburn every Second Sunday @ 3PM
- Holy Eucharist Parish, 1A Oleander Drive, St Albans South every Fourth Sunday (@ 3 PM)
Other big feasts, such as Santo Nino and Poong Nazareno, traditionally celebrated in the month of January are in the planning process. We hope that an additional number of attendees will be allowed at the time. We will give the updates in our newsletter and facebook account Katolikong Pinoy sa Melbourne. For more details, please contact Fr Litoy Asis at 0404 261 228 or father.asis@yahoo.com.au.
With a heart full of hope and joy, I exhort you my Dear Kababayans, to once more desire to encounter the Lord in the Holy Eucharist. I take my own the words of Cardinal Sarah, Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments when he wrote: “Aware that God never abandons the humanity He has created, and that even the hardest trials can bear fruits of grace, we have accepted our distance from the Lord’s altar as a time of Eucharistic fasting, useful for us to rediscover its vital importance, beauty and immeasurable preciousness. As soon as is possible, however, we must return to the Eucharist with a purified heart, with a renewed amazement, with an increased desire to meet the Lord, to be with him, to receive him and to bring him to our brothers and sisters with the witness of a life full of faith, love, and hope” (emphasis mine). – Msgr. Joselito C. Asis, Chaplain to the Filipinos
