The Prison Ministry of Monsignor Frank Marriott.

By Kevin Lane.

Almost four years ago, Monsignor Marriott, a priest for over 60 years, became involved in the Prison Chaplaincy group in Victoria, supervised by Sister Mary O’Shannessy in Melbourne. Along with priests from Castlemaine, Kyneton and Maryborough, Monsignor Marriott celebrates Masses at Loddon Prison and the new Middleton Prison in Chewton, near Castlemaine, on a six-weekly roster.

Gaining access to the chapels within the prisons is not a simple process, having to comply with very strict security checks, not only when entering the prisons, but also when leaving the prisons.

It is through offering the Mass to the prisoners that Monsignor Marriott took an extra interest in the prison chalice, a 1920 European-style chalice, with the following engraving on its base: “Donated to St Francis Xavier Church Egerton by Michael Touhey”. Egerton is in Victoria, not far from Ballarat. It is not known how the chalice came to be in the prison chapel.

Monsignor Marriott became concerned about the standard of presentation of the chalice – it was not good enough for its original purpose. Further, it seemed we were not giving sufficient respect to the congregation. The Mass is to be life-giving; to give hope; to point the way to a better future. Although the external condition of the chalice did not deny the reality of the offering, slowly it dawned upon Monsignor Marriott that there was a contradiction – “Anything is good enough for you prisoners”. That position did not sit well with the gospel injunction of “visiting those in prison”.

In March 2024 he approached the Knights of the Southern Cross (KSC) seeking financial support to have the chalice brought up to standard – a quality makeover was required. Monsignor Marriott personally contributed to get the work done; the Knights donated $500 and other individuals made contributions to get the work done.

Monsignor Marriott had previously engaged David Russ, a quality jeweller and silversmith, from Russ Studios, St Arnaud, who had undertaken similar work successfully. All systems go! The chalice was delivered to David. Then, on Tuesday 16 July 2024, Tom Dobeli, the District Chairman of the KSC, drove Monsignor Marriott to St Arnaud to collect the chalice. The finished product was absolutely amazing!! The restoration cost just under $1,200, but well worth the outlay.

Tom Dobeli then showed the chalice at Masses in his parish at Holy Rosary Church, White Hills and called on donations to support this project. In all, over $1200 was raised, covering all costs. Monsignor Marriott will use any additional funds to provide for any further needs required by the Prison Chaplains.

However, it does not end there. A presentation case was now needed to store the chalice in. Kevin Umina, also a member of the KSC and a qualified tradesman, crafted a presentation case that will now be stained and lined out appropriately.

In the meantime, the chalice has been returned to Middleton Prison. Mass was celebrated at Middleton on Friday 26 July using the refurbished Chalice, to the delight and appreciation of both the Chaplaincy team and the prisoners.