It is with the deepest sorrow that we inform you of the death of our beloved Parish Priest, visionary and friend, Fr John Rate, who passed away peacefully on Sunday 22 September 2019 at Calvary Hospital.
Fr John led our community as Parish Priest at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart. Initially in 1986 John was appointed as Assistant Priest but was later appointed Parish Priest from 1987-1994. He went to Canberra for a period and returned to Henley Beach again as Parish Priest in 2009 remaining and working for the parish till his passing this week. A gentle and kind man whose acceptance of all, and humility, led him to be loved deeply by many.
He gracefully battled cancer for several years, never losing his sense of humour or positivity, and was loved and cared for during his final days by family and close friends.
In communion with his family and Missionary of the Sacred Heart brothers, the celebration of Fr Johns' life will be as follows:
Funeral Arrangements for John Rate msc.
Monday September 30th at 9:00pm at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Church, Henley Beach - Candlelight Vigil Mass
Tuesday October 1st at 2:00pm at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Church, Henley Beach - Requiem Mass.
Thursday October 3rd at Our Lady of the Rosary Church, Kensington NSW at 7.30pm – Sharing of prayers and memories.
Friday October 4th at 10:00am at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Church, Avoca Street, Randwick NSW - Requiem Mass.
Friday October 4th at 2.30pm at St. Mary’s Towers, 415 Douglas Park Drive, Douglas Park – Rite of Christian Burial
Sacred Heart of Jesus, may he, and the souls of all the faithful departed, rest in peace.
After the Henley Beach Service on Tuesday 1 October 2019.
A community cuppa and cake will be available for all those attending the service. This will be held at the Star of the Sea school behind the Marine Discovery Centre off Marlborough Street. We are grateful to Joe DeTullio and the school community for organising this.
We ask parishioners to bring a plate to share with everyone as we come together to share John's stories.
Please note that parking will not be readily available near the church, you should allow time to park and walk to the church. Parking in the Church car park will be limited as we have a large number of priests and family to accommodate; parking is not available at Star of the Sea school as they have building works underway.
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