Farewell with feeling

Fr Dillon goes out on a high for all at St Mary’s

TEARS were shed and a standing ovation made as St Mary’s parishioners said goodbye to beloved priest Father Kevin Dillon AM at his final Sunday mass yesterday.

There was not a spare seat or a dry eye in the house as families gathered at St Mary of the Angels Parish for the 11am mass.

After 16 years of service, Fr Dillon is about to take up what he thinks will be his final pastoral position at Rowville’s St Simon the Apostle Parish.

Speaking outside St Mary’s after he had hugged and farewelled his parishioners, he said it had been an emotional roller-coaster.

“I just love the place so much,” he said.

“Geelong has been so much bigger than the parish, it’s been this whole community and identity, and it’s one of those things which I will miss enormously.”

Always humble, Fr Dillon said he did not want his last mass to be focused on him.

“My connection is always just through the normal things I do with people, and that was just a normal Sunday mass,” he said.

“As it turned out, the theme was not to beat ourselves up about the little things that don’t matter too much.

“It was a nice positive message to give people because most people have a lot of stress to cope with, and I always try to work on the basis that people should leave feeling better than they did when they walk in, feeling a bit stronger,” he said.

That sense of strength seemed to resonate with many of the parishioners bidding farewell to Fr Dillon.

The McGivern family said they had a long history with Fr Dillon and would miss his presence.

“Fr Dillon married myself and my late wife 24 years ago now,” Pat McGivern said.

“I lost my wife nine months ago and he helped us through some difficult times, he’s been a great friend of my late wife’s parents and family as well. There’s a lot of history.”

Maeve, 14 and Bridget, 21 said Fr Dillon had been a big part of their lives and they thought of him as a member of their family.

In his new position at Rowville, he said he would continue to advocate for, and work to support victims of sexual abuse in the church.

“Even though Rowville is a busy parish, it doesn’t have the hospitals and same number of schools, so I’m hoping to be able to put a bit more time in to that,” he said.

“It’s become a bit of a calling within a calling.”

Peter and Sandra Cooper said they were very moved by Fr Dillon’s last mass and would miss greatly.

“The theme was really to be kind to one another, it was just beautiful,” Mr Cooper said.

“We were the first mixed marriage couple to be married here at St Mary’s. I was baptised here and went to the St Mary’s school.”

Mr Cooper said he felt a strong connection with Fr Dillon and wanted to thank him for all the work he had done in speaking up for sexual abuse victims.

“The way he spoke up was tremendous and we have to thank him for that, for everything he’s done,” he said.