Remember When

* Our worship centre was a chapel situated on the eastern side of the property next to the mechanic’s house.

* Every Sunday morning during Mass, the priest would announce: “All those who would like to receive Holy Communion, please raise your hands” and the acolyte would approach pew by pew and count. This number he would give to the priest who would proceed to count the number of hosts. This was in the late 50s.

* Parishioners would approach the altar and kneel at the rail to receive Holy Communion.

* Every week, Fr Devenish would visit the school to remind the students to come to Mass on Sunday. All the children would sit together at the front.

* Sr Genevieve Cockburn, then principal, would have the children well organised and obedient.

* Sr Glenda Rodriguez started the Basic Communities which created cells of evangelisers who prayed and visited homes in the parish. Neidha Marshall then took up the mission.

* Gemma Gouvia-Jones came to Fatima in 1968, using the St Basil’s Hymnal to play the organ and accompany the start-up choir, as well as giving music lessons at the school.

* Cecil Sanchez and Patsy Parsons used to sit at the door and knew everybody who came and when someone didn’t come would enquire about their well-being, even visiting their homes to find out.

* Every Harvest day, the afternoon was alive with sports and activities—lime & spoon races, rabbit hop, tug-of-war, sprints…

* The present primary school was built on the footprint of the old Chapel

* Some 200 pupils attended the school—largely residents of the immediate area

What is your special ‘golden memory’?