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Parish Priests
Parish Priests

Parish Office Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Parish

Parish Priest: Rev Joshua Whitehead

Associate Pastor: Rev Gerard Lai

Parish office address:
Street: 61 Edmund Street, Shelly Beach, QLD, Australia
Postal: PO Box 595, Caloundra, QLD, Australia

Office hours: Monday - Friday, 9:00am - 1:00pm

Vicki Howard

Vicki Howard

Administration
Edgar Pitargue, OLR parish accountant

Edgar Pitargue

Finance Officer
Beth Davies Cropped

Beth Davies

Mission Coordinator
Amelia headshot

Amelia Willmer

Administration

Christyna Malietoa-Brown

Youth Minister
Fr Josh Photo

Fr Joshua Whitehead - Parish Priest

I was born on 27 February 1981, to Kevin and Prue (deceased), and am the second eldest of four girls and three boys, growing up as a practicing Catholic family in New Zealand. Upon completion of secondary school, I enlisted in the NZ Army in 1999 where I gained a trade certificate as a Fitter/Turner/Welder. I served in the NZ Army for eight years including a 2005 tour of duty to the Bamyan Province in Afghanistan.

In 2006 I sought release from the Army and travelled to Perth, WA, where I gained employment in several Pilbara iron ore mining operations for the purpose of travelling the world. I subsequently travelled for 12 months, living and working in London, before returning to Perth and working in the mining industry once again; this is where my vocational journey began. In 2009 I woke one morning and decided (Holy Spirit), that I needed to be more involved in the lives of other people – earning the big bucks in the mines just wasn’t enough. So I up-skilled as a Personal Trainer and started my own PT business in Perth, specialising in weight loss and injury rehabilitation.

In 2011, after deciding that Perth was too far from home (Holy Spirit again), I shifted my PT business to the Gold Coast where I made, what I call, the first adult decision in my life: practicing my faith (Holy Spirit once again). In August of that year, while at a Saturday night Mass, I heard God calling me to discern the priesthood through the priest as he challenged the congregation in his homily: “Have you ever asked anyone to become a priest." This calling from God continued to strengthen and in Feb 2012, I was invited by the Archdiocesan Vocations Director to spend one year in Canali House, the Archdiocesan house of discernment, with other men who were discerning the same calling. During that year, I applied and was accepted to enter Holy Spirit Seminary, Banyo, which I did so on 10 February 2013.

During those formation years at the Seminary I completed a Bachelor of Theology as well as a Master of Theological Studies, focusing on Synodality in the Church. I experienced a selection of different Advent and Pastoral placements including the Cathedral of St Stephen, the Emmanuel Community, Burleigh Heads, Enoggera, Indooroopilly, and Clayfield parishes, and also completed my Pastoral Internship year at Stella Maris, Maroochydore in 2017 under the guidance of Fr Joe Duffy.
I was ordained a Deacon on 16 November 2018 by Bishop Robert McGuckin in the Chapel of the Holy Spirit, ACU Banyo whereupon Archbishop Mark appointed me to the Cathedral of St Stephen for the term of my diaconate.

Following my priestly ordination on 31 May 2019, Archbishop Mark reappointed me to the Cathedral for a short period of time before taking up a three-year appointment in the Caloundra Parish.

In August 2022, Fr Peter Brannelly was appointed Parish Priest of Maroochydore Parish and Archbishop Mark appointed me to lead Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Parish as Administrator. In December 2023, I was appointed Parish Priest and am honoured to be the fifth leader of this parish. Please pray for me.

Fr Gerard Lai

Fr Gerard Lai - Associate Pastor

Fr Gerard Lai was born in Australia and is the middle child of Cecilia and Edmund. His cultural heritage is Malaysian Chinese and others would describe his personality as vibrant and creative. Growing up, he worshipped at St Paul’s Woodridge and St Edwards Daisy Hill. Gerard completed his secondary schooling at Clairvaux MacKillop College and as a young adult, he found himself exploring the Christian faith and asking life’s deeper questions, eventually leading him to an encounter with Jesus which gradually led to his discernment towards a vocation to the Priesthood. His previous experience in the areas of Biological Science and Youth Ministry form a great foundation for the analytical thinking and the relational nature of Priestly Ministry.

Prior to his ordination to the priesthood, Gerard spent his time as a Deacon ministering at Star of the Sea Parish, Cleveland before his first appointment here at Our Lady of the Rosary Parish. Gerard is interested in helping people find meaning and purpose in their lives and is particularly passionate towards youth ministry. Gerard’s favourite Saint is Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati and one of his favourite Scriptural Passages is the Parable of the Treasure Hidden in the Field (Matt 13:44). In his spare time, you’ll find Gerard outdoors hiking, fishing, and running.

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