Irishtown revisited

The
Catholic Weekly
Online

Sydney
23 November 2003

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‘Big kids’ meet ‘littlies’

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Prize for playground plan

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Irishtown revisited

Fr Kirby and two parishioners in front of the cemetery and original church, c1905. Photographer unknown.

The early Sydney settlement known originally as Irishtown, and later as Bankstown, dates back to the early 1800s.

The parish church and school date to the mid-1800s.

So St Felix de Valois parish, Bankstown, is marking its sesquicentenary with celebrations to honour the achievements of its early Irish forebears and to renew the faith of present-day parishioners.

The Archbishop of Sydney, Cardinal George Pell, has blessed a sandstone Celtic cross in the forecourt of the church as testament to the parish’s Irish forebears.

And the Bankstown City Library has been featuring an historical display entitled Irishtown to Bankstown - 150 Years of Faith.

But the main event has been a jubilee mission led by Redemptorist Fr Joseph Carroll, opening with a youth Mass on November 9 and culminating on November 16 with a Solemn Mass and family feast.

Bishop Charles Henry Davis laid the foundation stone for the church on land at the intersection of Liverpool and Chapel Rds on December 4, 1853.

John Abbott, who was born in County Carlow, Ireland, provided the land and helped build the church and was the first person buried in the adjoining cemetery.

Irishtown earned its name during the 1800s because of the large number of residents who hailed from Ireland. Fr John Therry served the community in local homes and inns before the church was opened in 1856.

The original church had been replaced before it was demolished in 1944 because of structural damage; some of its sandstone was used to build the Marian grotto that is in the church grounds today.

The present-day Renaissance-style church was built in 1925. The interior retains many original features including windows, colonnades, ceiling details and portions of the altar.

Today the church also houses signs of the contributions made by successive waves of migrants such as those from Poland and Italy, who arrived after World War II.

The first Polish Mass was celebrated in the church on November 15, 1959, and a shrine to St Maximilian Kolbe stands in the foyer in honour of the enduring presence in the parish of people of Polish background.

During the 1970s and 80s numbers increased again with the arrival of families from Vietnam and Lebanon.

Mass in Vietnamese is celebrated in the parish each month and a statue of St Ane, a Vietnamese martyr, has been installed in the church.

Education in the parish has also been a joint effort over the years, particularly by the Sisters of St Joseph and the De La Salle Brothers.

Bl Mary MacKillop inspected the area at the request of Cardinal Patrick Francis Moran, and her order established St Felix Primary School and St Joseph’s Convent in Bankstown in 1886.

The Josephites left the primary school in 1983.

The convent closed in 2000.

The senior girls’ school, Nazareth College which opened its doors in 1967, was closed in 1999.

A long-awaited boys’ high school was opened under the direction of the De La Salle Brothers in 1951.

They extended their commitment in 1968 when Benilde High was opened.

The two schools were amalgamated in 2000 and named La Salle College; it becomes co-educational next year.

Today, the role of educating local children from kindergarten to Year 12 is filled by the De La Salle Brothers and lay teachers at La Salle College and St Felix Primary School.

For more information, visit www.jubilee.stfelixparish.org