Italian Catholic Federation – FCI
The Italian Catholic Federation is a lay group that, inspired by the Good News of Christ, seeks to grow with the times, promotes social justice and Christian values by being a voice on social, political and religious issues through its leadership role within the Italian Community.
The Italian Catholic Federation of Mt Pritchard was formed on November the 13th 1974, where inaugural memberships took place.
It has activities and offers a challenge to the Community by:
1. Encouraging the Laity to be involved in Church structures.
2. Addressing the needs of those within the Italo-Australian Community.
3. Responding to the needs of ethnic communities.
5. Promoting family values.
Through an organised national structure the Italian Catholic Federation enables its members, both young and old, to share life in a Christian environment. It fosters the maintenance of its Catholic Italian heritage, provides friendship and comradeship, promotes the formation of the laity and assists the development of leadership skills.
They meet regularly and share their culture, heritage and religious beliefs. They believe that together they accomplish more than one can alone. They are active in various cultural events throughout the country, support our local parishes, and provide various charities with financial and other support.
Italian Senior Citizens
A group of older Italian parishioners that meet each Thursday from 9:00 am to 12 noon, to share their culture, their experiences and to engage in friendly activities such as bingo and card games.
Italian Choir
A group of Italian singers and musicians that leads the congregation in singing at the weekly Italian mass and any other Italian religious event held in the church.
OLMC Festa Committee
A group of Italians that are responsible for planning and conducting our yearly “Our Lady of Mt Carmel Festa” held in October.
St. Padre Pio Committee
A group of parishioners that meet one night every three months in the church at approximately 7pm in prayer in honour of Saint Padre Pio.
Crucifisso Di Terranova
The Association of the SS. Crocifisso (Holy Crucifix) is an organisation registered under the Charitable Collections Act with the following basic objectives:
1. To advance the Catholic Religion.
2. To assist the poor.
3. To assist the old.
The Association was registered as a charity in January 1989 and is managed according to the guidelines established by the Chief Secretaries Department for charitable organisations. The Management Committee has ten members with three office bearers, namely President, Secretary and Treasurer. The management committee is elected annualy at the AGM. The financial accounts are audited annualy as required by the Chief Secretaries Department.
The Association meets on average once or twice a month, where the various fund raising functions are planned and arranged. These functions to date have been the annual festival and two or three dinner-dance functions per year.
The main beneficiary of the Association’s fund raising to date have been the Scalabrini Village and more recently Our Lady of Mt Carmel via the Association’s donation towards the new church building. With the installation of the Holy Crucifix in the new church and formal welcome into the Parish of Mt Pritchard, the Association envisages a close, supportive and spiritually rewarding relationship with the church of Our Lady of Mt Carmel.
The origins of the Association go back to December 1986, when a group of friends from Terranova, a small village in the south of Italy, formed a social committee with the aims of organising social functions to bring together their fellow countrymen.
In 1987 at a dinner night this committee put forward a proposal to have a replica of the ancient and much venerated statue of the Holy Crucifix of Terranova made for the purpose of continuing the special veneration here in Australia. The response was overwhelming in favour and in February 1989 the fruits of seven months labour by the talented sculptor Prof. Stefano Albano resident of a town neighbouring Terranova, were unveiled at the Scalabrini Village, Austral. A special Feast Day which includes the celebration of Mass and a procession has been held every February.
