25 special years of service to Church

BY MARY ANNE MURRAY

Sometimes he had his team, sometimes he served alone; but the profile and outline of Jason Craig Ayliff Frittelli has filtered through the eyes and hearts of each and every one in our parish somewhere along the line as a familiar, integral part of the Mass, or the procession or a church event.

Jason Frittelli receives a blessing from Mgr Andrew Borello

His serious face always focuses on his duties which he carries out to perfection. His 25 year service to the Church in Johannesburg, Oudtshoorn diocese, and much of it in the parish of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Durbanville, Cape Town  has been marked by total reliability and commitment.

Part of those duties is to ensure that the younger servers understand what has to be done. He explains this to them carefully and patiently helps them when they falter.

We have been told that Jason was born prematurely on May 1, 1978 into a large Catholic family at the Marymount Maternity Hospital in Johannesburg.

At the age of five he submitted to open heart surgery, and over the years he has amazed everyone with his uncanny ability to bounce back from several medical interventions.

Battling the effects of Down’s Syndrome, he has proved to be a fighter second to none, and he has accepted the challenges and obstacles which life threw into his path with great gusto, remembering the power of prayer and motivated by his love of the Church and all its teachings.

His father fondly remembers him playing the part of baby Jesus in a nativity play at St Theresa’s church in Edenvale where his family lived at the time.

Grandparents are always special, as to Jason is his grandmother Dorothy Anne Frittelli and grandfather Hugo, both of whom were very involved in the Church.

Attending a regular nursery school in Olifantsfontein assisted his development. The support, love and understanding of his brother Darren, sister Jacquelyn and several cousins enabled him to blossom further.

He became a weekly boarder at Camphill in Hermanus until they decided to close the junior section. This meant moving to Eljada in Oudtshoorn which had a family atmosphere and was near his now retired, beloved grandparents.

He stayed there until he was 18 years old with weekends and holidays spent with family and grandparents.

He excelled in athletics and swimming and represented South Western Districts in both, obtaining a gold medal for athletics, of which he remains very proud.

His career as an altar server started at the age of 10 at St Anthony’s parish in Sedgefield, Oudtshoorn diocese, with the late Fr Gummersbach.

He progressed to serving at the Oudtshoorn cathedral with Bishop Edward Adams while still at school.

More than that, he even used to sing in the choir of the Dutch Reformed Church. Volunteering is part of his generous character.

A family wedding would not be complete without Jason being the altar server, and he proudly attended the weddings of his sister and all his cousins.

At 18 he moved to Cape Town and began his chosen path serving Durbanville parish.

All the parish’s clergy have appreciated his wonderful commitment, dedication and skill. Mgr Andrew Borello, under whom Jason served on the altar for 12 years, was always especially encouraging.

The parishioners of Durbanville are very proud of what Jason has achieved, and is still going to achieve.

We can learn a great deal from his tenacity, commitment and total dedication. We at Durbanville parish claim this young man  he is Our Jason.