Religious Orders provided the foundation of Catholic education in Western Australia Categories: Leadership, Religious Orders, Schools Timelines: Historical Timeline
“In 1843 Father John Brady had taken up appointment as the first Vicar-General of the Catholic Church in Western Australia. Within weeks he had determined that the task at hand was sufficiently urgent that he should leave at once to visit the convents and monasteries of Europe and there recruit Sisters, Priests, Monks and lay people to provide a Catholic education to children in WA. In little more than two years, he would return to Fremantle with an extraordinary band of Sisters of Mercy, Benedictine monks, French priest-missionaries and laymen. With the arrival of that party of twenty-eight missionaries began the foundation of Catholic education in Western Australia.” Source: Continuity in Change, Phillip Pendal
Traditionally, education belonged to the Church and our Religious Orders were instrumental in establishing schools in Western Australia.
Together, our shared Catholic tradition and the child-centred learning practices inherent in each of our schools and colleges have enabled generations of young people to examine and realise their unique gifts, talents and abilities.
Along with the Bishops’ mandate, the pioneering Religious Orders have provided a firm foundation to empower today’s students to make a positive impact in our ever-changing world.
The foundations in Catholic education were provided by:
Sisters of Mercy
Bendictine Monks
Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth
Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart
Sisters of St Joseph of the Apparition
Sisters of Our Lady of the Missions