On Wednesday, May 13, the Victorian Government announced up to 10 people plus those needed to conduct ceremonies could attend religious gatherings with social distancing strategies in place.
St Mary's liturgy member Mavis Murphy said it had been a long wait for many.
“People have missed us — they responded very quickly to the invitation to Sunday church,” she said.
“They simply couldn't wait, they've been begging us to bring church back.”
Monsignor Peter Jeffrey, who delivered the service, said it was important for the community to be able to celebrate mass.
“We love to come together and hopefully there will be a relief from the restrictions soon,” he said.
“You have to let the light shine.”
Monsignor Jeffrey's Sunday sermon commemorated the 200th anniversary of the arrival of the first Catholic chaplains in Australia, some of whom were convict priests.
He also spoke about how the Catholic church had been "stained" in recent days by the damage done to innocent young people by the "failures" of some priests, and how the focus was now on assisting and supporting victims.
Mrs Murphy said if the new services at St Mary's kept getting a good response from the public, they would consider holding two Sunday services.
12°C