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History of the Parish
General History
Extract from “The Southern Cross”
St Anne’s Convent and School
Parish and Resident Priests of St Bernadette’s
In Memoriam: First Parish Priest of St Bernadette’s
General History:
 On 8 December 1940, in a small wood-and-iron building known as “No. 5 Eighth Avenue”, Walmer’s first Holy Mass was celebrated. The late Archbishop Hugh McSherry, in his farseeing wisdom had, many years previously, purchased the plot on which this building stood in the geographical parish of Blessed Oliver Plunkett, South End.
The parish priest of Bl. Oliver’s was Fr John Little, and Holy Mass was celebrated every Sunday by a priest from South End and on weekdays, from January 1941, the same building served as a school under the care of the Irish Dominican Sisters, forming the beginnings of St Anne’s School.
On 9 December 1945 the foundation stone of St Bernadette’s Church was blessed and laid by Bishop James Colbert. Financial constraints delayed building, but the church was solemnly blessed and opened by Mgr. Hugh Boyle on 5 October 1947.
Although “No. 5” now served as a presbytery, the Catholic community still remained parishioners of Bl. Oliver Plunkett, South End, but in January 1951, St Bernadette’s became a parish in its own right, and Fr William O’Brien was appointed the first parish priest. A new presbytery and St Anne’s Convent were built simultaneously in 1954, but the sudden and premature death of the parish priest plunged the parish into mourning.
Fr O’Brien was succeeded by Mgr. Edward J. Wynne who laboured indefatigably to clear the debt on the church buildings. His efforts were well rewarded when, on 16 April 1964, St Bernadette’s was consecrated by Bishop E.A. Green.
Early in 1965 building operations began on the new Parish Centre. The foundation stone was blessed and laid by Bishop Ernest Green on 7 February 1965 and on 28 August1965 he blessed and opened the completed hall.
The parish grew steadily and in 1997 celebrated its Golden Jubilee with much joy. There was great concern when, in 2002 it was left without a parish priest and Fr Vales Dania, at the time parish priest of Mater Dei, Newton Park, and former parish priest of St Bernadette’s, selflessly offered to look after the parish.
However it was not long before Bishop Michael Coleman announced that the care of the parish would be entrusted to a group of priests known as The Oratory of St Philip Neri. This Society of Apostolic Life was founded in the 16th century in Rome by St Philip Neri, affectionately known as the Apostle of Rome, and the Saint of Joy. To that date there was only one “Oratory” in South Africa, located in Oudtshoorn.
In November 2002, three priests and four seminarians arrived at St Bernadette’s from Oudtshoorn, taking up residence in the old St Anne’s Convent and the presbytery. On 12 May 2008, the Holy See recognised the independence of the Port Elizabeth Oratory, an event which was celebrated with a Solemn Mass on 15 August 2008, at which the principle celebrant was the Apostolic Nuncio to South Africa, Archbishop James Green. At the time, the members of the Oratory included three priests, three transitory deacons, and three seminarians.
At present there are nine Oratorians, including seven priests and two novices.
Extract from “The Southern Cross”
WEDNESDAY 29 OCTOBER 1947
NEW CHURCH BLESSED
 PORT ELIZABETH – The church of St Bernadette at Eighth-avenue, Walmer, was blessed and opened on 5 October by Rt. Rev. Mgr. H. Boyle, who afterwards celebrated Solemn Votive Mass in honour of the saint.
In his sermon Mgr Boyle said the church was a monument to the unfailing zeal and hard work of Fr Little and his assistants, and to the faith, piety and generosity of the Catholics of Walmer.
No praise could be too great for the Catholic women of Walmer whose devotion and energy in raising funds for the new church were an example to all. Much still remained to be done in removing the debt from the church and in building a presbytery and hall.
The ceremonies concluded with Solemn Benediction and the Te Deum. Mgr Boyle was assisted by Fr’s little, Scully, Prendergast, and Wynne. Also present were Fr’s O’Sullivan (Cape Town), O’Malley, Henry, McVey, Nazareth and Dominican Sisters, Marist Brothers, and a large number of laity. The Nazareth boys’ choir sang the music of the Muss under the direction of Fr Martin. Mr Jackson Lee was at the organ.
COSTS £16,000
The church, which has an over-all length of 130 feet and accommodates 500 people, was built at a cost of over £16,000. The plans were the work of Mr B.J. Clinch, Johannesburg, and the construction work was in the hands of Messers. Harris and Harrower, Port Elizabeth.
The completion of the church was made possible through the generous bequest of £3,500 from the estate of the late Mrs Mary E. Reed, Port Elizabeth.
The parish priest, Fr Little, wishes to express his thanks to the Sisters of Maris Stella Convent, and acknowledge the following donations: Gold chalice and ciborium, Mr and Mrs D. McAuliffe; sanctuary lamp, Mesdames V. Richards and H.J. Betz; altar crucifix, Mrs J. Power; gold chalice (in memory of Frank Donoghue), Knights of Columbus, Jersey City, U.S.A.; missal, Maris Stella Convent, Port Elizabeth; thurible and communion plate, Mrs M. Thompson; lavabo and brass vases, Miss J.J. Stacey; missal stand, N.R. Price; missal stand and collection plate, Mr Barber; missal, Mrs C.L. Middleton; candlesticks, Mrs C.M. Daverin, Port Elizabeth; full sets of vestments (work of Archconfraternity of Work for Poor Churches), Miss M. McAteer; vase, Mrs R.K. Ross; picture of St Bernadette, Miss Jessie Brannan.
text-align: justify;">Marble altars, communion rails, baptismal font and Stations of the Cross are still to be procured, but the unfailing generosity of the faithful is relied upon to meet these requirements.
St Anne’s Convent and School
 St Anne’s Convent and School have both a physical and historical connection with St Bernadette’s. Many of our parishioners received their Primary School education there prior to its closure many years ago.
The Convent, once occupied by the Dominican Sisters, and having stood empty for several years, received a new lease of life when, in 1979, it was taken over from the Sisters by Peter and Gloria Mulligan on a 25 year lease. At the end of this lease, the property was purchased from the Sisters by the Mulligans.
Under the administration of Mr and Mrs Mulligan, it housed the Christian Renewal Centre which served St Bernadette’s Parish for meetings, Bible Study groups, retreats, and many other things and was used, too, by other Christian denominations as a sanctuary for retreats.
However, in 2002, when the Fathers and Brothers of the Oratory moved to Port Elizabeth from Oudtshoorn, they soon realised that the accommodation available in the 4 bedroomed presbytery would be insufficient for a growing, young community, and with great generosity, Mr Mulligan offered them accommodation in the Convent building, enabling The Oratory to grow in numbers and to extend its apostolate.
The Oratory, in addition to running the parish, and working in local schools, also runs the St Philip Neri Collegium, preparing young men to enter seminary. When The Oratory first moved to Port Elizabeth, this Collegium was housed at the Diocesan Centre in the old Nazareth House building, but a decision was taken in 2005 to accommodate the students at The Oratory in the old convent building. Due to restricted space, a new wing is being built behind St Anne’s Pre-School. Construction began in early 2009 and is expected to be completed in mid-2010.
St Anne’s School re-opened (on the initiative of the Mulligans) in 1988 as a Pre-Primary School, and remains open to this date providing first class Pre-school education in a Christian environment for one hundred children each year.
Parish and Resident Priests of St Bernadette’s, Walmer:
July 1947 - 1951 Fr J Little
July 1951 - April 1953 Fr W. O’Brien
April 1953 - June 1954 Fr J. McVey
July 1954 - March 1955 Fr W. O’Brien
January 1956 - May 1969 Mgr. E.J. Wynne
June 1969 - October 1969 Fr P. Quirk
October 1969 - October 1983 Fr S. Sheeran
December 1983 - June 1986 Fr M. Salsone
May 1987 - September 1987 Fr D. Mackay
October 1987 - September 1995 Fr V. Dania
October 1995 - August 1996 Fr R.R. Darwen SJ
October 1996 - January 1998 Fr R. Voisin
January 1998 - May 2002 Fr A. Wolf MHM
May 2002 - October 2002 Fr V. Dania
October 2002 - November 2002 Fr R.R. Darwen SJ
From November 2002 until the present the Parish has been under the care of the Fathers and Brothers of the Oratory.
In Memoriam: First Parish Priest of St Bernadette’s:
FR JOHN LITTLE
7 NOVEMBER 1960
By: Bishop J.P. Murphy, 5 August 1997
The area now known as St Bernadette’s parish was at one time part of Blessed Oliver Plunket’s parish with its administration abilities located at South End, Port Elizabeth. The three priests stationed at South End were responsible for church services at Humewood, Summerstrand, Forest Hill, Mount Pleasant, Walmer and Skoenmakerskop, but there was no church building in any of these suburbs. It was eventually decided to have a church complex in Walmer and that Fr John Little, the priest-in-charge at South End would be responsible for its construction. In due time, the new church was completed, furnished, blessed and formally opened for public worship. A resident priest-in-charge was appointed, parish boundaries demarcated and St Bernadette’s became busy about things that pertain to God and the People of God. Fr Little could now devote more time to his own well established parish in South End happy in the knowledge that he was instrumental in providing an attractive temple where people could worship as a community. Years later, Fr Little accompanied Mgr Wynne on a vacation to Ireland and Rome. On the return journey they planned to travel by boat to Alexandria and down the East Coast of Africa to Port Elizabeth. They disembarked at Alexandria and travelled overland to Cairo to visit the pyramids. Fr Little had a severe heart attack the morning after his arrival in Cairo and died within the hour on 7 November 1960 shortly after Mgr Wynne had administered the Sacrament of the Sick. The human remains of the late John Little now rest in the Franciscan Cemetery in Cairo, Egypt. R.I.P.
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