Today, 29 July we remembered Aquinas at a requiem Mass celebrated by Bishop Patrick Dunn and concelebrated by Bishop Denis Brown, fr Joe Parkinson OP, fr Chris Loughlan OP and fr Paul Farmer.  Both Chris and Bishop Pat shared about Aquinas: Aquinas was born in Melbourne in 1931, educated by the Mercy Sisters and the Christian Brothers and trained as an electrical mechanic.   As a sixteen year old he joined the Catholic Evidence Guild and would stand on platforms in parks as an apologist.  He was destined to be a preacher.   He spent his 21st birthday on a long retreat preparing for entrance into the Dominican Novitiate.   He studied in Melbourne and Sydney.  He became a Dominican priest in 1957 and then began a series of appointments in parishes, teaching, spending time as tertiary chaplain and wher-ever he went he provided retreats for all.  He arrived in Auckland in 1981.   Perhaps his best known legacy from his time in Auckland would be the building of the Crypt beneath St Benedict’s Church.  The school was about to close and it was imperative that we have a gathering space.  He was also the one to establish the Dominican Library which continues to exist today at the Peace Place.   He was a man who gathered people.   No matter who you were or what you had to give Aquinas involved you.  An example of this were the people putting the pockets for library cards inside books.  Some of the
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