Archbishop's Homilies 2010

Funeral Mass for Fr Vincent Curran

FUNERAL MASS FOR FATHER VINCENT JOSEPH CURRAN CELEBRATED BY ARCHBISHOP DENIS HART AT OUR LADY OF LOURDES’ CHURCH, ARMADALE, ON FRIDAY, 8 OCTOBER 2010 AT 2 PM

INTRODUCTION

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Together with his brother, Leo, his nieces and nephews, friends and family members, we come to bid farewell and pray for the repose of the soul of Father Vincent Curran, who died on Sunday afternoon in the 94th year of his age and the 45th year of his priesthood.

We are one with the people of Maidstone, South Caulfield, Hampton, Fawkner and Armadale where he was Assistant, with Ivanhoe West and Armadale where he was Parish Priest, and with the priestly community of Justin Villa where he resided for the last seventeen years.  We remember him with prayerful affection as he is united with Kath, Bart, Father Tom and Des in the kingdom of heaven.

We pray that free from any burden of sin he may enjoy the light of resurrection in the presence of the God whom he loved and served, assisted by the prayers of Mary, our Mother.

As we continue our journey in hope let us call to mind our sins.

HOMILY

“I look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.”  (Nicene Creed)

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

These words from the Nicene Creed show the faith in which we live as we come to bury Father Vin Curran and pray for his soul.

The Christian meaning of death is revealed in the light of the Paschal Mystery of the death and resurrection of Christ, in whom resides our only hope.  The Christian who dies in Christ Jesus is “away from the body and at home with the Lord”.  (2 Cor 5:8)

The Church as a Mother has borne Father Vin sacramentally during his earthly pilgrimage and now accompanies him at his journey’s end in order to surrender him into the Father’s hand.  Especially for a priest who was the minister of God’s Word and Sacrament, we are united with Father Vin and with the community here gathered as eternal life is proclaimed to us and the work of prayer for the dead carries our brother forward with love and remembrance into eternity.

We know that the souls of the virtuous are in the hands of God, as we pray that Father Vin will pass out of death into life because of the priestly love which he has shown for his brothers and sisters.

Vincent Joseph Curran was born at Maribyrnong on 17th January 1917, fifth of six children of Thomas and Sarah Curran, brother to Kath, Bart, Father Tom, Des; and Leo, who is with us.  After early education at Saint Mary’s, Ascot Vale, he attended Christian Brothers’ College, North Melbourne. 

Vin had to leave school at the end of Intermediate to help the family during the Depression.  He secured a job at a Bakelite factory in the city.  Next he worked at a clothing factory in Flinders Lane.  He then joined the Commonwealth Government Clothing Factory, rising to be (by the age of 21) the senior examiner of textiles at the Geelong and Warrnambool Mills. 

During the Second World War he was attached to the Royal Australian Air Force and worked at Shepparton and Cootamundra on recruiting from 1943 to 1946.  He joined the Defence Department and then the Public Service, where he rose to a senior position in the Department of Trade and Customs.

The young Vincent was a prolific sketcher of famous sportsmen and collector of newspaper clippings.  His scrapbooks are a wonderful walk through time and, while they are mostly to do with football, cricket, foot-running and boxing, there are some cameo appearances from famous horses, racing cars and even Kingsford-Smith.  He was a good junior cricketer and a successful athlete, running with his brothers at the many foot racing meetings, including running second in the “mile” at the Stawell Easter meeting in 1938.  The scrapbooks show a newspaper photo of Vin lunging at the tape at Leongatha.  He saw plenty of Victoria on those travels.

While the Curran family are renowned as staunch supporters of North Melbourne, in the early years Vin had a leaning towards Richmond.  Young Leo recalls being taken by his older brother to Punt Road to see Jack Dyer play.  In later years the North Melbourne allegiance prevailed and Vin could be extremely firm in his views on certain players, umpires and the opposition; especially Collingwood.  Possibly the events of last weekend were enough to convince Father Vin that it was time to move to a better place.

When the first Holdens came off production Vin, with his brothers Bart and Father Tom, managed to end up with three identical black cars.  Through the 1950s and 1960s the brothers always had identical cars, even to the extent of buying Valiants in about 1965!

At the age of 44 on 22nd July 1961 he went to study for the priesthood at All Hallows College, Dublin - one of a long line of Melbourne priests who had had this opportunity.  Shrouded in the mists of time it is remembered that Archbishop Mannix had a Bursary at All Hallows College, the value of which he wanted to recoup once the Melbourne Seminary was opened.  However, Mannix was unsuccessful and even as late as 1970 Cardinal Knox wanted to send one student to All Hallows.  His presence there is an indication of the tremendous service which All Hallows has rendered to the Archdiocese of Melbourne, even up to the present.

After five years of study he was ordained to the priesthood in Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, Melbourne, on 23rd July 1966, at the age of 49.

Time as Assistant Priest followed from 1966 to 1975, when he was appointed Parish Priest of West Ivanhoe for eight years, followed by his final ten years as Parish Priest here in Armadale.  He was appointed Pastor Emeritus on 1st June 1993.  He loved to travel to Ireland to catch up with relatives and explore the Curran family history.

As he grew older and technology improved Vin turned his youthful interests in sketching and collecting clippings into a passion for photography.  He kept an orderly record of the most interesting photos, and so, following on from the scrapbook records of the 1930s and 40s.  The albums he put together of the 1970s and onwards show the World and its people through his individual lens.

Vin was a meticulous public servant, a priest who was sincere and devoted in his work for people.  He loved Our Lady and was generous in encouraging traditional Catholic practices and the participation of Marian groups in the church at Armadale.  He saw himself as a keeper of the faith.

In recent months he suffered greatly through illness.  I am sure that the courage of his suffering is indicative of his deep Catholic faith and the love he shared with his sister, brothers and family.  Now he and his brother, Father Tom, a very different character, are united with Kath, Bart and Des in eternity.

We thank God for his priestly goodness, his generosity and his response to the Lord’s invitation to priesthood.  May he enjoy with those he served faithfully eternal rest in the kingdom of the blessed.  May he rest in peace.

+ Denis J. Hart,
ARCHBISHOP OF MELBOURNE.