FATHER Frank Brennan says if "you're on about social justice, it always pays to know a bit of law", as they go hand in hand.

And if anyone should know about the two it's Fr Brennan who has been a priest for 30 years all whilst practising law for 40 years.

So it would make sense for him to be the preacher at yesterday's law church service which signalled the start of the law year.

The mass saw the Catholic Bishop, the Anglican Bishop and the head of the Uniting Church convene the service in St Joseph's Catholic Cathedral in Rockhampton.

Fr Brennan flew all the way from Canberra to be at the service yesterday.

"Members of the legal profession came along in order to pray together and reflect together in order to commence the legal year and the Chief Justice of Queensland, Catherine Holmes was here and also my father Sir Francis Gerard Brennan who also came from Rockhampton originally and he was the Chief Justice of Australia," he said.

In the beginning of his law career Fr Brennan was the advisor to the Queensland Catholic Bishop on Aboriginal affairs which gave him the chance to regularly visit Aboriginal communities.

While working on this he met Margaret Hornagold who performed he welcome to country for the same law mass yesterday.

"Father Frank was here (living in Rockhampton) and worked very closely with members of the Aboriginal and Catholic Council and others in really developing that social justice framework for what was happening in Queensland at that time and there was some wonderful stories and wonderful friendships that were made during that time that still exist," she said.

"I am also a law graduate so I was really pleased to come along and do that acknowledgement as well as catch up with some old friends such as Fr Frank Brennan. I think I will come back because I really see the stance of the church and the stance of the law, and how aboriginal people move between the two and the influence that they have both had on institutions from where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people fit and stand within this country, have long been some corner stones in some ways but we still need to clean up that inner area where we are all sitting in at the moment."