This year we celebrate the bicentenary of the foundation of the Patrician Brothers.

The Brothers came to Australia in 1883 when the Catholic community here was in desperate need of teachers, following the 1880 Education Act.

The Brothers’ story is similar to those of the many other Religious Congregations which served the Australian community so well and for so long.  It is a story of sacrifice and endurance, of total commitment and enviable success, always inspired by a single-minded focus on the gospel of hope.
The Religious Congregations leave a legacy which has a most powerful influence on the Catholic identity of our schools today.

I know I speak for all the educating community when I thank the Patrician Brothers and the Brigidine Sisters (who were also founded by Bishop Delany)  for the great foundations they have created for following generations to build on, and for their continuing presence as a leaven in the mission we share today.