Parish 

Mass is celebrated at St Finbarr’s Church on the fourth Sunday of each month at 6.00pm. 

Parish contact details 

Fr Warren Padilla, Priest Director  

Quarrion Street, Quilpie Q 4480 (PO Box 34, Quilpie Q 4480) 

07 4654 3394  

Fr Warren resides in the Charleville Parish. 

Parish history 

The first Catholic church in Quilpie was built in 1937. As it was a small wooden building in need of maintenance and too small for the growing congregation, it was replaced by the current brick building in 1976. The current building was designed by Fr John Ryan and blessed and opened by Bishop Edward Kelly.  The crucifix, tabernacle and bell are from the original church. 

As opal mining is an industry in the area, Fr Ryan wished for this gem to feature in the church. A local opal miner, Des Burton designed the opal panels for the altar, lectern and font. 

The stained-glass windows were designed and donated to the church by Bill and Mary Durack. Bill and Mary are direct descendants of one of the original pastoral families in the region. Bill worked with the architectural firm that designed the church building and his sister Mary is the author of ‘Kings in Grass Castles’ which provides a historical account of the local area.   

Fr Jeff Scully was the last resident priest in Quilpie from 1980 to 2007. Fr Jeff was highly regarded for his sense of community, Catholic and non-Catholic alike. 

Fr Peter Doohan took up the ministry of the Parish from Charleville until 2020. Fr Warren Padilla, Priest Director, provides travelling ministry to Quilpie and Cunnamulla and is based at St Mary’s Parish in Charleville.