The Southern Cross | July 2023

The lives of two well-known priest/scientists who ministered in South Australia in the mid-1800s will be the topic of conversation at Lefevre Catholic Community in July.

The ‘Science, Faith and Friendship’ presentation by parish priest Fr Roderick O’Brien will focus on Jesuit priest and naturalist Fr Johann Hinteröcker SJ and diocesan priest and geologist Fr Julian Tenison Woods.

Fittingly, the talk will be held on Sunday July 23 – the 150th anniversary of when Fr Hinteröcker’s remains were laid to rest in St Ignatius Church, Norwood. The first priest to be appointed at Norwood in February 1869, Fr Hinteröcker played an integral role in the building of the church and is the only person interred there.

To mark the significant anniversary, the 10am Sunday Mass at St Ignatius will be followed by a tree planting ceremony outside. Emeritus Bishop Greg O’Kelly SJ, who is also researching Fr Hinteröcker’s life, will then speak about the popular Jesuit priest and historical items will be on display. The celebration will conclude with a cuppa and finger food in the hall.

Norwood parish priest Fr Chris Jenkins SJ said while Fr Hinteröcker was in South Australia for only a short time, he played a defining role in the early history of the parish.

“He was quite an important figure in the early church in Adelaide and by all accounts was considered a very intelligent, organised and popular priest,” he said.

“He was so popular here that nine months after his death his remains were brought back from Tasmania and interred in the floor of the church on July 23 1873.”

Fr Roderick has spent many years delving into the lives of Fr Hinteröcker and Fr Tenison Woods and has written several papers detailing their strong Catholic faith and achievements in the scientific world, showing that the two did not have to be exclusive of each other.

“In fact, it was not unusual for priests to be scientists back then,” Fr Roderick said, adding that he first became aware of Tenison Woods in 1989 when serving as parish priest in Naracoorte.

“They were celebrating the 100th anniversary of his death and I didn’t really know much about him so I got interested in researching his life.”

Having taught in China for seven years with the Columbans, Fr Roderick said he was particularly interested in discovering more about the time Fr Woods spent in Asia undertaking scientific research.

In a contribution to the journal of the Australian Catholic Historical Society, Fr Roderick wrote how from 1857 Woods had a ‘fascinating career as an adventurous priest, a pioneer educator and a religious founder’. ‘The most noted of these foundations was the Sisters of Saint Joseph of the Sacred Heart, with the young Australian educator Mary MacKillop,’ he wrote.

‘But he always sought to give an hour each day to science, and published regularly. In the course of his life he wrote more than 200 scientific papers on subjects as diverse as geology and palaeontology, marine biology, botany, and exploration.’

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