Parish life
The rhythm of a Catholic week.
Mass and the sacraments, prayer and devotion, care for the sick and welcome for the stranger — this is what our parish does, week in, week out.
01 — The altar
Mass & worship.
The celebration of the Eucharist is the heart of our parish. Around the altar each week, the community hears the Scriptures, prays for the world, and shares the Body and Blood of Christ — the source and summit of Catholic life.
Mass at Our Lady of Perpetual Help is warm and unpretentious. Visitors, holidaymakers and new arrivals are always welcome — many people first discover the parish while staying by the bay, and keep coming back for decades.
For current Mass and Reconciliation times, please contact the parish office — times can change with the seasons and the liturgical calendar, and we'd rather tell you directly than leave old times on a website.
Ask about Mass times →
The Sunday gathering
02 — The sacraments
Seven signs of grace.
The sacraments mark the great thresholds of a Catholic life, and our parish celebrates all seven:
Baptism welcomes children and adults into the Church. Reconciliation offers the mercy of a fresh start. Eucharist — First Communion — brings children to the table of the Lord. Confirmation seals young people with the gifts of the Spirit.
Marriage is prepared carefully and celebrated joyfully. The Anointing of the Sick brings strength and comfort in illness. And Holy Orders — the priesthood — is the vocation that serves them all.
Thinking about a sacrament for yourself or your child? The parish office will walk you through preparation, timing and everything in between.
Signs in wax and flame
03 — Prayer & devotion
Under the mantle of Our Lady.
Our parish is named for Our Lady of Perpetual Help, and devotion to Mary runs deep here. The rosary, quiet prayer before the Blessed Sacrament, and candles lit at the shrine are woven into the week — small, steady acts of faith that hold a community together.
Veneration of the Virgin Mary and the saints is one of the oldest instincts of Catholic life: not worship, which belongs to God alone, but the love of a family for its mother and its heroes. If you carry an intention, bring it — the parish will happily pray with you.
Light through stained glass
04 — Pastoral care
Faith for the hard days.
Illness, grief, loneliness and crisis don't keep office hours — and neither does a parish. We visit the sick and housebound, bring Communion to those who can no longer come to Mass, celebrate the Anointing of the Sick, and walk with families through bereavement and funerals.
Our care extends well beyond the pews. Like the wider Church, this parish exists for everyone: children and the elderly, families under pressure, the unemployed, migrants and refugees, veterans, people with disability or chronic illness, and anyone doing it tough on the Peninsula.
If you or someone you love needs a visit, a sacrament, or simply a prayer — please ask. That's what we're here for.
Request a visit or prayer →
Open hands
05 — Community & outreach
The Gospel, over a cuppa.
Parish life spills out of the church and into the neighbourhood: morning tea after Mass, parish lunches, working bees, and quiet support for local families and other charities doing good on the Mornington Peninsula.
Children are at the centre of it all. Sacramental preparation introduces a new generation to the faith each year, and families form the friendships that make a parish feel like home.
New to Dromana or returning to the Church after time away? Come along on a Sunday and stay for a cuppa — it's the fastest way to stop being a stranger.
Lend a hand →
After-Mass morning tea