The parish priest of Coober Pedy, Fr Paul Crotty, is moving on after celebrating his silver jubilee in the world’s opal capital.
Fr Crotty, who arrived in Coober Pedy in 2019, says saying goodbye to a parish and moving to another is “filled with mixed emotion”. His time in central Australia is marked with a “sense of joy and happiness.”
“I am grateful for the experiences that have been part of my priestly life here – in the parish, community, Aboriginal lands, outback, stations, events, sport, Yulara,” he told The Catholic Weekly.
“Throw in distance, heat, flies, cattle, camels, donkeys, horses, sheep, dust, blown tyres, cracked windscreens, a couple of boggings and, of course, colourful outback characters – it has been a parish like no other.”
Coober Pedy is one of Australia’s most exotic parishes. The mining town of 1500 is located in the middle of a stony, treeless, waterless desert. The Catholic Church is underground, carved into the rock, and the temperature is constantly cool, unlike the surface, which can reach 48 degrees in the summer.
The parish belongs to the diocese of Port Pirie, which is about twice the size of France. Fr Crotty sometimes said Mass in Uluru, about eight hours drive to the north, and used to travel to Alice Springs and outback stations.
After a final Christmas in Coober Pedy, Fr Crotty says he would like to stay but moving from place to place is part of his vocation.
“As the Lord has been with me here, he will be with me there, wherever the ‘there’ is,” he said.
“So as I gathered with the people for Christmas Mass, it was with a sense of joy and thanks but also mindful that life is a pilgrimage and, like the Magi, we are pilgrims. That I move on is good for me and good for the people hopefully enriched by what the Lord’s has done through his grace and presence.”
Coober Pedy is a “perfect place to be,” said Fr Crotty, with community, friends, activities, and, of course, sport.
An avid sportsman, he enjoyed playing golf on Coober Pedy Opal Fields Golf Club, which has “not a blade of grass” – but is the only club in the world with reciprocal rights with the legendary St Andrews course in Scotland. He taught touch football to the local kids.
“I know that sport was a wonderful blessing for me and helped me to develop as a person –virtues, sense of teamwork, and working with others and that all helped me in my life,” he said.
Most of the people in the outback town are miners who came from across the globe and established families, says Fr Crotty. A few tourists pass through, mostly during February to August, when it is slightly cooler.
“There’s also the Aboriginal culture as well and getting to know their ways and the culture and to experience that in the outback is also another aspect,” he said.
“You’ve got social services, there’s a school, and a hospital service for Aboriginal people.”
Fr Crotty said the conditions in Coober Pedy weren’t “always attractive” for people and are a far cry from the erratic and often cold weather in his native Melbourne.
As a child, he wanted to be a chartered accountant and play for the North Melbourne AFL team. He managed to do both and even played preseason for the Kangaroos in summer of 1987-88.
“I kept in contact with my faith, so Sunday Mass was always awesome,” he said. “I appreciated the Mass as a youngster, and had very happy times in the church, the life of a parish, life of family and faith.”
Thinking back on the work undertaken by priests in his youth, Fr Crotty said he knew someone would have replace them – he just didn’t think it would be himself.
For a while, he was far from God. He felt restless and took a sabbatical which led him throughout Europe and even to Mt Sinai. When he returned to Australia, he went to confession and received Communion.
“It was in that moment it became quite clear that the Lord was calling me to become a priest.”
He entered the seminary in Melbourne in 1990, but he later moved to Wagga Wagga. He was ordained in 2000, and shortly thereafter was posted to Port Pirie in South Australia, where he served until 2010, on loan from the Diocese of Wagga Wagga.
After that he worked in Port Augusta. He arrived at the parish of Sts Peter and Paul in Coober Pedy in 2019. It was just before the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We went from feast to famine when 2020 came and we went back to very, very limited numbers and no movement at all,” he said.
During the pandemic, Sts Peter and Paul was mainly online; in-person attendance was restricted and Masses were livestreamed.
“A few people appreciated a bit of prayer and watching and praying along with the Mass,” he said.
“My mum’s one of those; she’s in Melbourne, so she’s 2000 kilometres away so she wants to join in.”
Reflecting on his silver jubilee, Fr Crotty said his journey of 25 years of service is not just his own. He has shared his life in the Lord with the elderly, those in need, and many families.
“For a young person considering a vocation, especially a religious life, they will never be outdone in generosity,” he said.
