By CASEY NEILL
St Marys Parish Dandenong would receive $500,000 to “build a new beginning” under a Coalition Government.
Bruce Liberal candidate Helen Kroger delivered the news to Father Declan O’Brien on Thursday 23 June.
On 1 April last year, vandals lit two fires inside the church, which was erected in 1959.
An out-building storage area for vestments and silverware, known as the sacristy, a workshop and the kitchen were extensively damaged.
The fire burnt through the floor and firefighters tore open the roof in a bid to save the double-brick structure.
Fr O’Brien said $500,000 would “help kick-start again what community services we offer the City of Dandenong”.
“We run tutoring and English classes, free of charge, and run by a group of volunteers,” he said.
“We’re famous for being a welcoming, inclusive community.
“Upgrade of the car park would be the main thing and also landscaping – having a place of beauty, hopefully, so people can, hopefully, come if they want to reflect, pray, just spend a few minutes away from the hustle and bustle.”
He said the church had also borrowed money from the Catholic Development Fund for the project.
“If the Coalition Government got back in again, as soon as they got back in we’d be on their heels,” he said.
Ms Kroger said St Marys was “central to the social fabric of our local community”.
“Families and young people who call the Dandenong area home benefit every day from the social service outreach that you and your parishioners conduct, and aspire to expand upon,” she said to Fr O’Brien.
“Local families, schools and the diverse multicultural community that makes up your parish will build a new beginning and thrive well into the future with this vital investment.”
