A “Potted” History of the St Clement of Rome Parish, Bulleen

The history of the St Clement of Rome Bulleen Parish is “captured” in the two documents –   “25 Years Remembered, ST CLEMENTS, 1963-1988”, author – Leo Morrison; and, “St Clement  of Rome Parish – Remembering the Second 25 Years – 1988-2013”, published in 2015.

Bulleen has always been a diverse area, a fact that our founding father, Father Spillane, became aware of as he set about establishing a parish here.  Mass was initially celebrated at the penguin Laundry in Bulleen Road from June 1960 until December 1962.

Many parishioners contributed to the construction of the original St Clement of Rome School that from Christmas 1962 became the Church on Sundays.  Father Fraser was appointed the Parish Priest of the St Clement of Rome Parish in January 1963 and set about establishing a Catholic Parish “from scratch”.  Construction of the existing Church began early 1971 and Cardinal Knox officially opened it on 17 July 1972.

The St Clement of Rome Parish celebrated its Golden Jubilee in July 2012 when Father Wahid Riad was in residence.  That “milestone” was celebrated on Sunday, 24 November 2013 after   a significant refurbishment closed the Church for about a year.  Shortly after the refurbished Church was reopened Monsignor Franco Cavarra was appointed the parish Priest.

From 1972 to 2012 there is simply too much history to include in this short summary.  The Parish’s history is rich, personal and captivatingly exciting.  That history is “captured” in the two documents cited at the start of this “potted” history.  Both documents are available (on loan) from the Parish Office and for anyone interested in the parish’s history they are “must read” documents.