We next walk into the narthex and look back. The link aisle to the nave is now on our right. Of interest on these walls are two Reverend gentlemen, an Aboriginal painting, and a board of thumbnail photographs of church members, placed intriguingly under the heading RESURRECTION. INDEX
22. BISHOP AND POPE, OUR LADY OF THE ABORIGINES
From left we see here Bishop Greg O’Kelly, Apostolic Administrator of the Adelaide Catholic Diocese, Pope Francis, and a copy of the painting of ‘Our Lady of the Aborigines’ found in the Catholic Cathedral in Darwin.
23. SOUTH SIDE OF LINK
We leave the narthex to explore the short link to the nave. Here we find a cabinet containing the Holy Oils, and some colourful artwork by the children of the parish. The Holy Oils are: • chrism – used in the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and Holy Orders, as well as for the consecration of altars and the dedication of churches. • the oil of catechumens – also used in the sacrament of Baptism, and • the oil of the sick – used in the rite of the Anointing of the Sick.
24. NORTH SIDE OF LINK
The North side of the link is a small gallery of children’s art.
26. NAVE
And inside, the nave is vast! We shall explore around the walls of the nave starting with the stations of the cross on the South (right) wall, and working our way round in a clockwise direction.
27. SOUTH WALL
The fourteen Stations of the Cross are arrayed across the South wall. Or they would be, if Station XI was not missing. Stolen? Misplaced? The priest does not know. However, I’m sure the Church would love to consider a suitable replacement. As well, Station XIV has a missing small ‘numbering cross’. The chairs are stacked because my visit came in COVID-virus time.
28. STATIONS OF THE CROSS
Here is an official listing of the 14 Stations of the Cross: I: Jesus is condemned to death; II: Jesus carries His cross; III: Jesus falls the first time; IV: Jesus meets his mother; V: Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus to carry his cross; VI: Veronica wipes the face of Jesus; VII: Jesus falls the second time; VIII: Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem; IX: Jesus falls a third time; X: Jesus’ clothes are taken away; XI: Jesus is nailed to the cross; XII: Jesus dies on the cross; XIII: The body of Jesus is taken down from the cross; XIV: Jesus is laid in the tomb. We see that the missing Station is the actual crucifixion of Christ.
29. SOUTHWEST WINDOWS
There are just two sets of windows in the nave. Each has five strips, two of which are clear, and three of which have a painted figure. Perhaps the painted figures have faded, but at present they do not do justice to the people they commemorate. There are two roundels hanging here, and an explanatory plaque on one of the columns.
30. WINDOWS IN DETAIL
The three figures depicted in these windows are saints. We shall see from the information plaque that they are, from left, St Thérèse of the Child Jesus, St Francis Xavier, and St Mother Thérèse of India. St Thérèse of the Child Jesus was the religious name taken by Thérèse of Lisieux, who is widely venerated in modern times. She is popularly known as ‘The Little Flower of Jesus’, or simply ‘The Little Flower’.
31. TWO ROUNDELS AND A PLAQUE
The central plaque refers to the windows, giving the names of the saints, the donors, and the window creators. No information is given about the two exquisite Nativity roundels which hang in front of the clear glass.
32. WEST WALL
Standing in the central aisle near the sanctuary, we can look back to the West wall. This is fairly plain with a number of doors which may lead to office space or confessionals? Our eyes are drawn though to the connecting link, with a view of the brilliant narthex window.
33. NORTHWEST WINDOWS
The wall of Northwest windows mirrors that on the Southwest side, except that here from a distance the pictures on the windows are almost indiscernable. There are four more roundels here too.
34. DETAILS OF WINDOWS
As will be indicated by the plaque, the saints pictured here are, from left, St Francis of Assisi, St Mary of the Cross MacKillop, and St Paul of the Cross. Saint Paul of The Cross was Italian, lived 1694 to 1775, and was canonized in 1867. He was the founder of the order of missionary priests known as the Passionists. In 1720 Paul dedicated his life to God and began to experience visions, in the last of which the Virgin Mary appeared to him. He was inspired by this vision to found a congregation devoted to the suffering of Christ on the cross, and subsequently founded the Passionist Nuns at Corneto (modern Tarquinia). By the time of his death, Paul had established 12 monasteries in Italy, and since then his institute has spread throughout the world.
35. NORTHWEST ROUNDELS
Here are two more of these beautiful roundels, these hanging up on the Northwest windows. These too depict Nativity scenes.
36. MORE ROUNDELS, AND PLAQUE
As with the previous windows plaque, this plaque gives information about the depicted saints, the donors, and the creators of the windows. The two remaining roundels also show Nativity scenes. Perhaps someone donated their personal collection!
37. NORTH NAVE
As we follow the wall of the nave around from the Northwest windows, we come to the Church organ, and then the entry to the Blessed Sacrament Chapel. After this we will arrive at the sanctuary area.
38. ORGAN
Musical accompaniment for this Church is provided by this neat electronic organ.
40. PAINTING AND LAMP
The painting is a copy of ‘The Return of the Prodigal Son’, an oil painting by Rembrandt, part of the collection of the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg. Depicting the moment of the prodigal son’s return to his father in the Biblical parable, it is a renowned work described by art historian Kenneth Clark as ‘a picture which those who have seen the original in St. Petersburg may be forgiven for claiming as the greatest picture ever painted’. •• This modern version of a sanctuary lamp indicates the presence of the Eucharistic Elements in the nearby tabernacle.