Christ the King, Braybrook and Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Maidstone are partnered parishes of the Archdiocese of Melbourne. The priests and parish secretary serve both parishes from the Parish Centre at 46 Ballarat Rd Maidstone, where the pastoral associate for Maidstone is also based; the pastoral associate for Braybrook is based at the Christ the King Parish House at 16 Athol St Braybrook. Our Lady’s and Christ the King are members of the Sunshine Deanery.

The parish of St John’s West Footscray was established in 1921. When it expanded beyond the ability of St John’s Church on Essex St to accommodate it, the people built Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church at 46 Ballarat Rd. Our Lady’s opened in 1962 as the main church of the new parish of Maidstone, incorporating the old parish of St. John’s. The Sisters of St. Joseph have lived for many years in the parish, from the days when they established St. John’s Primary School. Today they still live in the convent in Essex St, and continue to serve the people of western Melbourne in a variety of capacities. Sr. Sharon Dick is pastoral associate at the Western General Hospital Footscray and a part of the parish team.

The parish of Christ the King, Braybrook was established in 1952, from sections of Sunshine and West Footscray parishes. In 1958, the parish transferred from its temporary centre in Rupert St to its present location on Churchill Ave, with the opening of the Catholic Centre. The new Centre, established with such great sacrifice and labour by the parish, was destroyed by fire in 1961. However, the determination of the parish was unbroken, and the present church opened in 1966. The Sisters of the Sacred Heart had a long association with the parish, operating Christ the King Primary School for many years. Today, Sisters of Mary, Queen of the World serve the Vietnamese Community in the parish.

Braybrook and Maidstone parishes entered into partnership in 2000.

The Aim of Our Lady's and Christ the King Partnered Parishes

The partnered parishes of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Maidstone and Christ the King, Braybrook, are communities of followers of Jesus Christ within the Catholic Church in Melbourne. We  

• receive the love of God our Father made present in Jesus his Son, and
• share this loving presence with others.

Responding in faith to God’s word, we are gathered together by Christ in the celebration of the Eucharist and the other Sacraments. We worship God and receive the divine life of the Spirit, which empowers us to carry Christ’s saving truth and love into the world around us.

We are called:

• to FAITH-FILLED LOVE of God, and of every human being, made in God’s image;
• to accept, by our lives of faith, hope and love, God’s gift of ETERNAL LIFE, and to be his instruments in helping others accept that same gift;
• to WELCOME all people, valuing the individual gifts of each one;
• to offer worship together, marked by PRAYERFULNESS, BEAUTY AND PARTICIPATION;
• to grow in PRAYER, CHARITY AND HOLINESS in our daily lives;
• to contribute our GIFTS, TIME AND TALENTS to our parish community;
• to build COMMUNION of faith and love within the Church, in union with our Pope and Bishops;
• to REACH OUT to all people in their material and spiritual needs;
• to SHARE THE GOSPEL with all people;
• to sow the seeds of CHRIST’S KINGDOM in this world, looking forward to the world to come.

The Parish of Our Lady of Perpetual Help

46 Ballarat Rd.
Maidstone Victoria 3012

Phone: (03) 9317 9298
Fax:       (03) 9317 4311
Email:

Churches:

Our Lady of Perpetual Help
46 Ballarat Rd.
Maidstone 3012

St. John’s
Cnr Essex & Eleanor Sts.
Footscray 

Parish House:

46 Ballarat Rd.
Maidstone 3012 

Our Lady's Parish House

The Parish of Christ the King

65-67 Churchill Avenue
Braybrook VIC 3019

Phone: (03) 9317 9298
Fax:       (03) 9317 4311
Email:

Parish House:

16 Athol St, Braybrook, 3019
(Blue House on corner of Athol St & Churchill Avenue)
Phone: 9312 3595

Christ the King Parish House

Parish Staff (for the Partnered Parishes)

Parish Priest:                   Fr. Martin Fleming
Assistant Priests:            Fr. Eugene Ashkar & Fr. Pius Kodakkathanath
Vietnamese Chaplain:   Fr. Philip Le

Secretary:                         Carmen D’Rosario
Pastoral Associate:        Anne Dowling
Pastoral Associate (Western General Hospital): Sr. Sharon Teresa, RSJ

Braybrook Maidstone Partnered Parishes Team

Chair: Catherine Leslie
Members: Mrs Margaret Horley; Mr Christopher Chu; Sr. Michaela Pham
Ex Officio:  Parish Priest; Assistant Priest; Parish Pastoral Associates of Braybrook and Maidstone.

Schools

St. John’s Catholic Primary School
Christ the King Primary School
Caroline Chisholm Catholic College

Parish Hall

Our Lady’s Parish Hall (Lyons St., Maidstone) is available for hire.
For further information, contact the Parish Centre on 9317 9298.