Padre Pio Parish Glenmore Park

CATHOLIC CHURCH DEVELOPMENT GLENMORE PARK

With the dedication of the Catholic parish of St Padre Pio at Glenmore Park and the installation of Fr Kevin Lee as its first Parish Priest, the Catholic community of Glenmore Park has been working towards the construction of its own Parish Church. Both the Development Application and the Construction Certificate for the new church have been approved and funding has been put in place by the Diocese of Parramatta for the development. The project is now out to tender with prices due in later this month and construction due to commence prior to Christmas.

The total development will include a new church with a piazza and campanile, car park, landscaping and a new priest’s residence. The car park will also be used for Bethany Primary School. The church will be clearly identifiable as an ecclesiastical building, with the design based on traditional lines and vetted by Fr Peter Williams, the Director of Liturgy in the Diocese. It will make a significant statement, especially when viewed from the regional shopping centre on the next ridge line to the west. The church will accommodate 600 parishioners, however, with folding doors this can expand to accommodate 1,100 within the Narthex and side courtyards. This will allow for larger gatherings for major liturgical services and school masses. Behind the Sanctuary there will be a meditative garden, whilst in front of the entrance a piazza will allow for social gatherings and a campanile will give prominence to the space.

The church and car park will be surrounded by significant landscaping as a continuation of the adjoining urban forest and to soften the impact of the development. A recent demographic study has projected a Catholic community of 6,000 over the next few years in Glenmore Park. The new church will be ready for this expansion in a setting which is prayerful, aesthetically pleasing, practical, dynamic and flexible to accommodate the future.