Serving Cathedral House – Mehul Shah
Cathedral House is like a small hotel, business head office and events centre all rolled into one. It is also the home for Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP, the Archbishop of Sydney, Cathedral Dean Rev Donald Richardson and the Assistant Priests.
Cathedral House receives a constant stream of visitors and guests, and conducts diocese meetings and more formal occasions held by Archbishop Anthony.
Ensuring that all runs smoothly at Cathedral House is the responsibility of the Services Manager, Mehul Shah.
Mehul Shah came to Australia from India in 2008 and commenced working at Cathedral House as a casual waiter three hours a day, simply managing the table service for the evening meals for the residents and visitors.
Following a series of promotions since then Mehul Shah, as Head of House Service, provides a professional, welcoming and warm environment for the Archbishop in residence, other resident clergy and the guests of Cathedral House and the Archbishop.
“It is a little like running a small hotel. I manage four staff who deliver exceptional housekeeping services at Cathedral House. There are six permanent residents including Archbishop Anthony and the resident priests. We also have another five or six guest rooms and we often have guests coming in.
“We also have a wide range of functions to manage during the year. For instance we have four meeting rooms which are well utilised for diocese and other business meetings for a range of organisations. There are also dinners and more formal functions and at Easter and Christmas we are very busy. We have dinners for up to 150 and cocktail parties for 200 guests hosted by the Archbishop.
“I really enjoy talking to the guests and visitors and ensuring they are well looked after during their stay at Cathedral House.
“When I was growing up in India I never would have thought that one day I would hold this position in the Cathedral House in Sydney.”