Port Wakefield
St Vincent de Paul Catholic Church
Parish Priest: Fr. Mark Sexton
Address
25 Edward Street, Port Wakefield SA 5550
Church Services
Please note that the service may be a Mass or Liturgy of the Word with Communion. Occasionally services may vary, depending on priest availability.
9.00am
2nd Sunday
10.30am
History
In 1869 Bishop Shields, the 3rd Bishop of Adelaide laid the foundation stone and the Church of St Vincent de Paul was opened the following year on 11th July 1870, and it is the oldest building in the town. The Reverend Julian Tenison Woods, Director of Catholic Education in South Australia and co-founder of the Sisters of St Joseph, preached the sermon on the evening of its opening. Services to the Port Wakefield Catholic Church were initially conducted by Jesuit priests from Sevenhill. Following the creation of a parish at Kadina in 1868, Port Wakefield was then serviced from that centre.
The first clergy stationed at Kadina and travelling to Port Wakefield were Dean Kennedy and Fr Robert Cleary. About 1872 the congregation were anxious to add a vestry to the Church. This was eventually completed and all expenses generously paid for by Mr J Johnson. In 1889 a new parish of St Andrews, Balaklava was opened and Port Wakefield was then serve from there.
In 2010 Balaklava church was merged into what is now known as St. Mary of the Cross MacKillop Northern Light Parish.
