As a young child witnessing bombs dropping around him in his hometown of Prague in Czechoslovakia, Joseph Pertl dreamt of becoming a priest and devoting his life to God and helping others.

 

His father wasn’t so keen on the idea and told his only child he should first complete a university degree before considering study at a seminary.

 

After immigrating to Australia, Joseph did as the Bible instructed and honoured his father’s wishes by studying law at the University of Adelaide. But shortly before his 30th birthday while working at a law firm at the Beehive Corner in Rundle Mall, he decided it was time to fulfill his life’s dream. It was 1967 and the Church was beckoning.

 

“Just before I was about to turn 30 I gave an ultimatum to God. I said if I did not marry by the time I reached 30, I would join the priesthood,” Joseph recalls.

 

In an amazing twist, on the day of his birthday, with the seminary clearly within his sights, Joseph met a client who had brought along her sister to the law firm and at once Joseph knew his life was about to take a completely different direction which did not include wearing clerics.

 

It was love at first sight and he and his beautiful Wladyslawa, or Suzie as she is more commonly known, were married only a few months after that meeting. Together they have four children – Joseph, Mary, Anthony and John.

 

In the many years that followed his ultimatum, Joseph has remained true to his commitment to God and continues serving people.

 

“Being a lawyer is a vocation where I can also help people, just like the priesthood,” he explains. Now in his seventies, he still finds time to practice law and helps a large cross section of his fellow countrymen from middle Eastern Europe, as well as a strong contingency from the Italian community.

 

According to one of his co-workers, Michael Xavier, one of Joseph’s many strengths is being able to “make the law accessible to people and help them understand the law and seek justice for them”.

 

Being able to talk with many of them in their native tongue is a bonus, with Joseph being a fluent speaker in Czech, Ukranian and Polish as well as understanding Italian and French.

 

However, he admits that when he arrived in Australia as an 11 year old immigrant he never thought he would be able to master the English language. He and his parents fled Czechoslovakia in 1949 as the claws of Communism took hold and they discovered Joseph’s father was facing imminent arrest.

 

Joseph recalls being very upset on the day they left. It was a Sunday and he was distraught he would not be able to attend Mass – something that had been his weekly ritual since the age of four.

 

“I remember as we travelled on the train I saw people leaving the churches and I was horrified that I was missing mass that day.”

 

After staying in France for a short while, the family travelled to Italy where they were granted passage to Australia.

 

“My father was petrified of Communism and staying in Europe and wanted to get as far away as possible.”

 

Italy was a delight for young Joseph. He was able to visit the Vatican and his family obtained tickets to a canonisation Mass. However, he was so far back in St Peter’s Basilica that he ran past the barriers and got to within 20 metres of Pope Pius XII. It was a moving experience as Joseph “got to see the Pope talking directly to God”.

 

“His awareness of God was extremely strong and I remember it vividly. It was a very special moment for me.”

 

When told the family was moving to Australia, Joseph was unperturbed. He knew little about the country but thought he had some idea of what to expect as he had seen Bush Christmas with Chips Rafferty!

 

However, when they finally arrived by boat at Newcastle in the November heat and were sent to the unfamiliar surroundings of a migrant camp, Joseph said it was on par to “having ended up on Mars”.

 

“Who ever heard of having lamb chops for breakfast and what on earth were those Kellogs Cornflakes? It was completely lost on us,” he laughs.

 

Soon the family moved to Townsville and besides the weird Australian food, language continued to be a problem. Joseph attended Catholic schools and was forever thankful to the brothers who spent endless time helping him with his English. Finally, the family relocated to Adelaide where he lives today with Suzie.

 

He remains true to his beliefs and attends daily Mass to feed his spiritual needs, while he also works out in a gym five days a week to keep his physical being in great shape.

And he holds no regrets about the vocation he ended up following after that memorable meeting at the Beehive Corner, forever thankful for the outcome of his ultimatum to God.