By Monsignor Frank Marriott

The Annual Conference of the Priests Retirement Foundation of the Diocese of Sandhurst was held at Hill Top in Tatura on 16 November 2023.

Part of that Conference was to elect a new committee as required by the constitution.  Fr Novelito Lim, Fr Jake Mudge, Monsignor Frank Marriott, Mr Geoff Bowyer and Mr Peter Spurling were duly elected.

At a subsequent meeting, Fr Novelito Lim was elected to the position of Chair and Monsignor Frank Marriott as Secretary. Fr Joe Taylor VG remains ex-officio as does the Diocesan Business Manager, Mr Cameron Fraser. This Committee is elected for a period of three years.

The New Year brings Fr John Corcoran, the former Parish Priest of Cobram, as a member of the Retired Priests. This raises the number of retired priests to eleven. A number of those retired continue to assist with Sunday supplies in various Parish Masses and we express gratitude for that important service.

The Foundation, on behalf of the Diocese, assists retired priests with board and lodging, and incorporates the former Sick Priests Fund with responsibility of assisting with Medical expenses. RSD provided the Audit services for the trading year 2022/2023.

The Foundation wishes to acknowledge the generous personal and parish collection of 2023. Some $44,000 was raised. These funds help to provide adequate support to retired priests.
The Fund has registered Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) status, and all gifts are Tax deductible.

We mourn the recent deaths of Fr Peter Quinn and Fr Stephen Bohan. We give thanks for their faithful service to our Diocese and ask for your prayers.

For further information on the work of the Priests’ Retirement Foundation, please contact Monsignor Frank Marriott on mobile: 0427 315 633.