On January 7, Fr Denis Carabott, one of our priests, died at the Rosary Home Aged Facility in Keilor Downs, in Melbourne, Australia, aged 83. 

Fr Denis was ordained priest in 1967 and came to Australia in 1970. He ministered mainly in Melbourne at Wantirna (our seminary), Parkville and North Sunshine.

During this period, he also spent time in our mission in Peru and was a much-loved priest, who gave his energies to the mission in the way he saw fit.

Where there was Fr Denis, there was energy and activity. He certainly was not one with folded hands on his belly waiting for things to happen but was in the thick of things and inspired others to do the same. If he set his mind to do something, he would go for it with all his energy, sometimes to the detriment of his health.

Where there was Fr Denis, there was noise, there was singing, there was laughter, there was life. He did not allow dullness to be around him. He loved to be with people and people loved to be with him. Over the many years of ministry, he endeared himself to so many − young and old.

Where there was Fr Denis, there was community. He excelled in this, alongside Fr Victor Shields, in the 1970s and 1980s, when he rallied the whole community to come together on projects they were involved in.

He could relate to the young and old. He was able to cross the ethnic boundaries and was at ease with all people who crossed his path. He was generous with his time and did not hesitate to help anyone in need.

He was not afraid to enter into a fight if he thought the truth was being compromised or justice was not being done. He was not always right and it was not easy to convince him otherwise. He was certainly feisty!

He was, above all, a man of God, a man of faith, who was faithful to his prayer life and took the Eucharistic ministry very seriously. He had a special love for our Blessed Virgin Mary.

Where there was Fr Denis, there was noise, there was singing, there was laughter, there was life

In Parkville and in North Sunshine, he built two little shrines to help foster the devotion among our people. The one in North Sunshine next to the presbytery is a little marvel, because it attracts many people to prayer. It is so good to see, in a very special way, parishioners of Vietnamese background taking very good care of this shrine, putting fresh flowers and making sure that the shrine is always clean. Very often you find people praying at all hours of the day and night in front of Our Lady of Lourdes.

With his faith, Fr Denis makes what St John said in his first letter come true when he says that we have conquered the world!  When we are people of faith, we do not live in anguish and stress because we have clear eyesight on reality, and we are able to discern and know what is of value in life.  

This is the mission that all the members of our missionary society are meant to live everyday if we want to be happy. Woe to us if we do not proclaim the Gospel! It would be a shame if any member of our society, after committing themselves to the Mission, becomes lazy, seeks their comfort and becomes self-absorbed. This can easily happen to us.

The world around us is not different from the world that Jesus lived in − it is the same: sinful, awesome, fantastic, terrible, unjust, wonderful, kind, cruel, noble, and yet we are asked to give our lives to the men and women of today.

Our founder, Joseph Depiro, wanted us members of the society to be on the front line of evangelisation and to make ourselves available to the Church in the way that the local Church asks us to.

I am grateful that I and Fr Denis belong to a society that understands well the term ‘synodality’ − the term that Pope Francis speaks about so often. In 1967, we had a big meeting encouraging the lay people to join us on our mission and, in some ways, we have achieved this. I also know that most of the priests of our society are open to the new lay movements in the Church and we support them because that is the direction we need to move to. Many priests find this difficult to do. If we are to touch the lives of our people, this is what the Church is asking of us today.

So on Thursday, January 16, we will celebrate Fr Denis’s funeral at our parish in North Sunshine, with mass at 11am. Vigil prayers will be said on Wednesday, January 15 at 7pm.

Please join us in prayers for Fr Denis wherever you are, and also in our gratitude to God for the long years of ministry of this man who, in spite of his fragility, did his best. May he rest in peace.

The funeral will be live-streamed via this Zoom link.