Mary Teresa Haugh was the longest-serving organist in a single parish in the history of the Diocese of Sandhurst at St Liborius’ Parish in Eaglehawk. She was born on October 15, 1931, and died on March 9, 2026. Her Requiem Mass was celebrated at St Liborius’ on March 18 by Eaglehawk Parish Priest, Fr Stephen Bolling, alongside Frs Des Welladsen, Dennis Crameri and Jackson Saunders.
This is the homily from the celebration given by Fr Jackson.
Homily by Fr Jackson Saunders
For the past 76 years, half of the Diocese’s history, since it was founded in 1874, Mary has been faithfully playing the organ in St Liborius’ Parish, both here in Eaglehawk and at St Augustine’s in Myers Flat. The journalist in me has been consulting Diocesan historians and organists to see how Mary’s contribution to music compares with others across Sandhurst. I remember in 2010 when I was working at the Bendigo Advertiser interviewing a lady called Aylene Gallagher, who began playing the organ here at St Liborius’ when she was eight in 1928. At the time of her 90th birthday in 2010, Aylene was still playing the organ at St Kilian’s and had been an organist for 82 years. In recent years, my research has backed up my instinct that Aylene and Mary are in the two top organists for service in the history of the Diocese of Sandhurst at 82 and 76 years respectively. I’ve consulted people across the Diocese, including Dale Wright, who has played the organ for 43 years in Shepparton and John Hogan, who has played the organ for 41 years in Bendigo. However, no one is aware of a record of service as impressive as Aylene or Mary.
The journalist in me, however, has also dug for one more story. Who has the longest record on the organ in a single parish? Yesterday afternoon, I spoke with Maggie Williams, the daughter of Aylene Gallagher. We concluded that Aylene played the organ for 28 years here at St Liborius’ and then 54 years at St Kilian’s. This means that Mary Haugh, at 76 years in St Liborius’, is the longest-serving organist in a single parish in the history of the Diocese. In fact, she has served in this ministry for 50% of the Diocese’s history.
Today, we celebrate the passing of history in the life of Mary Haugh. She began playing the organ when the Mass was celebrated in Latin and embraced the changes of the Second Vatican Council, which promoted the “full, active and conscious participation of the faithful,” including through song. The instruction on music in the liturgy from the Second Vatican Council says that “one cannot find anything more religious and more joyful in sacred celebrations than a whole congregation expressing its faith and devotion in song. Whether we be religious or not, we know that music has the power to boost our spirits. Even well-known secular songs speak to reality of God’s presence in our lives. Songs such as Show Me the Way by Brian Cadd, Gloria by U2, Morning has broken by Cat Stevens, Turn Turn Turn by The Byrds, Day by Day by Colleen Hewitt and Rivers of Babylon by Boney M. The famous quote from St Augustine, “to sing is to pray twice”, is very appropriate for Mary’s life. Only God knows the number of people Mary touched, as they left Mass with a spring in their step and carried on with their lives.
Those of us who attend Mass regularly would all agree that music lifts our spirits as we head out into the community to live our lives. The dismissal at the end of the Mass, such as “Go in peace glorifying the Lord by your life”, also reminds us that we are to take Jesus with us wherever we go. Mary’s life was deeply interwoven with her parish, her town and her faith. She was a life member of the Catholic Women’s League and the Eaglehawk United Friendly Society, as well as a woman of Rotary. She was involved with ecumenical dinners with people of other faiths, such as the Anglican and Uniting Church, as well as the annual World Day of Prayer. I’m aware of lots of stories of her philanthropy and kindness to those struggling through business, where she, John and her family would give to others without expecting payment in return.
In the Catholic community, she was devoted to St Liborius’ and the Diocese not only through her music but in many other ways. She was involved with altar society work, arranging flowers, in St Liborius’ Primary School tuckshop (all the volunteers knew not to touch Mrs Haugh’s table cloths!), the liturgy group, the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, various committees, fundraisers and cake stalls. Mary was instrumental alongside Brian Bourke and other parishioners in celebrations for hometown boy, Fr Jake Mudge, at his ordination to the priesthood in 2008.
Mary also had a great love for clergy and religious, including the Franciscans, who served this parish from 1954 until 1999. She was devoted to the Poor Clare Sisters, a group of contemplative nuns, who were in Kennington for 56 years until their departure in 2021. She supported St Aidan’s Orphanage in Kennington, run by the Good Shepherd Sisters.
Her involvement in the community and Church was inspired by her deep faith expressed through music, the Rosary, and her devotion to the Saints, especially Mary MacKillop, Teresa of Avila and Liborius.
This meant that Mary also was not afraid to say what she thought and challenge authorities. She proudly had plastered on her EH Holden in 1994 when the Kennett Government sought to amalgamate the City of Eaglehawk into the City of Greater Bendigo with a protest sticker: “Eaglehawk, the Greater part of Bendigo!”
I had the privilege of serving as a seminarian here in 2015, and we kept in touch. Mary would regularly write me letters, would ring to say hello and attended both of my ordinations. She was an avid listener of my work on Fresh FM, calling the local football and on Radio Sport National with Fr Gerard Dowling. I remember one day giving Mary a ‘Cheerio’ on Fresh FM in an Eaglehawk home game. I remember the ball had gone out of bounds and it was time for my co-commentator to pick up the call. I said something like: “I’ll call the board at famous Canterbury Park, and it’s Eaglehawk leading 3.3 (21) over Sandhurst 2.2 (14) and a cheerio to Mary Haugh, an avid Eaglehawk fan, who has been playing the organ at St Liborius’ for the past 73 years. To which my co-commentator replied, “Gee whiz, she must have sore fingers!”
Our First Reading, from the Book of Ecclesiastes, is a piece of poetry, which speaks about the cycle of life, reflecting the good times and the bad. Mary’s children, Seamus and Catherine, in their eulogies, spoke about how Mary and her beloved husband, John, were always there for others in their married and family life.
Our Gospel from St John is part of Jesus’ Last Supper discourse. Jesus is sharing a meal with his disciples, who are grieving, before his death on the cross. Today, we grieve for Mary. However, we can also be inspired by her example, given that she was involved for decades in organising wakes for funerals. Her actions spoke volumes about care for the bereaved.
Finally, we come to give thanks and praise to God for her life. The Eucharist comes from the Greek word, eucharistia, which means ‘thanksgiving.’ Seamus put it well in the eulogy. Mary believed in showing up. “A life grounded in faith. In service. In friendship. And above all in family.”
Homily By Fr Jackson Saunders, Assistant Priest, Cathedral Cluster of Parishes, Bendigo
