Father Charles Cerini

“The judgement of everyone who knew him was that he was unique, and irreplaceable; and very likely possessed of that type of greatness which becomes immortal” (Author Niall Brennan, Yarra Valley News Sep 17, 1968)

Charlie Cerini was a country boy born in Victoria’s Western District, Colac, in 1912. When he finished school he went to Corpus Christi Seminary in Werribee and while studying demonstrated his building talent by erecting a much needed sports pavilion. He was ordained a Catholic Priest in July of 1939. Only a few months later, in October of the same year, his father died and Fr Cerini’s first funeral celebration was for his own father. 

He was tall (6’3″) and gangly and had a loud distinctive laugh. He was always cheerful, caring and supportive and very practical in how he approached life; but his main characteristic was that he was a man of faith and it was his belief that inspired and fed all his social outreach. He lived a simple life, asking nothing for himself, and if anything was given to him it would end up being given to someone else in need. One local said of Fr Cerini, summarising the opinion of many, “He was the best bloke I ever met”.

Much is said of his practical acheivements but there were many who were inspired more by the depth of his faith and his theological understanding. One of Australia’s great Catholic authors, Frank Sheed, was inspired by some of Fr Cerini’s sermons and added some of his insights to his books “Theology for Beginners” and “Theology and Sanity”.

In 1939 he was an assistant priest at Kyneton, then moved to Daylesford and Coburg and in 1944 he became a chaplain at Pentridge Prison. During the decade that he served as a chaplain he attended many executions and founded a half-way house for ex-prisoners, some say it was the first one in Victoria and it became a model for those that followed. For the rest of his life ex-prisoners would drop in to see him knowing there was always a food, a bed and a warm welcome.

The Archdiocese sent Fr Cerini to Warburton in 1954 to become their Parish Priest. The Sacred Heart parish was based in Warburton but covered a large area, it was also a relatively poor area and there was no Catholic School.

Fr Cerini’s solution to every problem was to roll up his sleeves and get to work. The parish needed a school so he decided to build one. The school needed teachers so he invited a The Josephites, a teaching order of Nuns to come to Warburton and since they needed a Convent to live he built one for them almost single handed.

The school, which is now called The Cerini Centre, was original in design and construction being circular in shape. Any large building needs workers and Fr Cerini inspired people to help, this was not limited to Catholics, many Seventh Day Adventist gave assistance and many workers from the Upper Yarra Dam would travel down to Warburton on the weekends to help out. Skilled tradesmen, labourers, families and children all donated time and effort to construct the school and the convent.

When the High School moved from Warburton to Yarra Junction the school bus was expected to carry the Catholic children but the Education Department of the time did not allow this to happen. Fr Cerini acquired a bus and drove the children to and from school every school day for two years. Eventually due to declining health he was no longer able to drive the bus but this meant the children had difficulty travelling to school. The Education Department had not changed its stance, so in 1966 Fr Cerini marched the children between Yarra Junction and Warburton twice a day for two weeks. The Melbourne newspapers picked up the story and printed articles about the walk and as a result the Education Department relented and allowed the children to travel on the school bus.  

In September 1968 Fr Cerini died suddenly from leukaemia. However, many believed he had been seriously sick for some time and kept the suffering to himself. It is likely the reason that he had to give up driving the school bus. 

His funeral was held in the central hall of the St Joseph’s Catholic School (now called The Cerini Centre) and over 600 mourners attended. They came from all levels of society, professional, labourers, locals, outsiders, Catholic and many other denominations. The funeral procession travelled along the Warburton Highway to the Upper Yarra Cemetery in Yarra Junction, the same route that he had walked the children two years earlier. It was reported that the funeral procession was over two miles long. There were many priests at his funeral and one said after the burial “All that is left now is to canonise him”.