In a month full of feast days, the Mauritian Catholic community gathered to celebrate the annual Père Laval Mass at St Joseph’s Catholic parish in Moorebank on 13 September.
The Mass in honour of Blessed Jacques-Désiré Laval, known as Père Laval, was celebrated in French by Fr Octavian Tumaini Masao CSSp, parish priest of St Dominic’s, Broadmeadows in the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne, and Fr Didier Indibi OMI, assistant priest at the Mary Immaculate Parish in Eagle Vale, in the Catholic Diocese of Wollongong, with several altar servers from the community.
Prayers and songs were sung in French and Mauritian Creole, the local dialect, in thanksgiving for the life of Père Laval. Food was shared together in the parish hall following the Mass and a short procession.
“Once again, this year, the church was filled with Mauritians who came from all corners of Sydney to come together and celebrate,” said Dario Ratinon, one of the organisers of the event.
“It was a particularly beautiful and emotion-filled celebration, with the wonderful participation of the choir, which performed beautiful hymns, the prayers and testimonies.
“The entire congregation gathered after Mass around a Food Fair offering delicious Mauritian specialities, and the funds raised will be remitted to the Diocese of Port-Louis in Mauritius.
“We thank the Lord for having blessed us with such a beautiful celebration, and we will gather once again for this Mass in 2027.”
Père Laval was a French missionary priest, a member of the Spiritans congregation. He came to Mauritius in 1841, just after slavery ended. He was beatified by Pope St John Paul II in 1979.
Père Laval dedicated his whole life to caring for freed slaves, teaching them, healing the sick, and sharing God’s love. Mauritians see him as a father figure who brought hope, dignity, and faith to the people.
