"(But) I realised I missed it so much," he said.

"You feel a devotion to serve God in whichever way you can, and I feel that was my calling. The break made me realise I was a parish priest after all."

Fr Perkins was officially installed as the Dean of Christ Church Anglican Cathedral in Lydiard St at the weekend.

He replaced Fr Geoffrey Tisdall, who retired in early October after three years' service.

Fr Perkins, who most recently worked in Hamilton, said he was looking forward to meeting and building the congregation of worshippers.

"It will be my responsibility to care for the souls of the people that worship here and that is my first priority," he said.

"My second priority is to support the bishop here in his work."

Fr Perkins described himself as "very similar" to Fr Tisdall, but said changes would be made.

"(Change) is inevitable. I think Geoff did a good job and I will build on it, so I won't be doing anything radical quickly. But inevitably in time I will bring my own style," he said.

"We are very similar in our ways, so it will be much the same. One of the jobs will be to build the church and encourage young ones and do a few innovative things that will attract people.

"One thing might be an informal service, I want to maintain what is here, but also add to what is here."