Hair tousled, slightly breathless, phone in hand, Dr Mark Schembri, the head of Australia’s second oldest university residential college shows off one of his prize possessions.
In the imposing grandeur of another rector’s office, amid the dark wood panelling and leather chairs and a Baroque painting of St Philip Neri over the marble fireplace, a complete zebra skeleton might seem incongruous.
But the combination of zany contemporaneity and Catholic tradition captures the spirit of Schembri’s successful campaign for a “complete cultural renewal” of St John’s College within the University of Sydney.
Established in 1857, the co-educational college is home to about 250 undergraduates and postgraduates.
Designed by William Wardell, one of the leading ecclesiastical architects of the British Empire, it was built entirely in sandstone, in 14th century English Gothic style. It is one of Sydney’s most stunning Victorian buildings.
Its alumni include a former prime minister, Tony Abbott, a former treasurer, Joe Hockey, Australia’s first astronaut, Paul Desmond Scully-Power, and a who’s who of judges, ambassadors, doctors, politicians, journalists, businessmen, and Olympians.
St John’s hired Schembri in 2022. As an undergraduate student, he used to admire the sandstone glory of John’s from the neighbouring veterinary school.
He worked as an equine surgeon and is still a vet for the Australian Turf Club. He did a Master’s in Public Health at Harvard, where he lived in two famous residential colleges. He then qualified as a medical doctor at the University of Sydney and still works in women’s health at Royal North Shore Hospital.
College life and the experience of a few World Youth Days sold him on working with young people
He became a deputy warden at the nearby Anglican college, St Paul’s. “I don’t think I’ve ever lost that love of working with young people who are open to growth and want to be excellent in their areas,” he says.
Schembri recently set out his strategy to The Catholic Weekly for the on-going battle to keep the Good Ship Johns on course in its mission.
First, he constantly reminds students and staff of its Catholic identity.
“Students, particularly post-COVID are looking for something real,” he observes
“They are keen for a real community experience and are very open about trying to live a good life. There is a constant search for meaning in the proper sense – not the emptiness they have found in social media. They are very health conscious, quite conscious about avoiding unhealthy lifestyles and pursuing their mental wellbeing.”
Schembri believes that this connection with health and the pursuit of authentic happiness is very much why the college was founded.
“The Catholic faith allows people to flourish, serve others and find peace in the confusion of the world,” he says.
Second, the Mass, which is central to that Catholic identity. Schembri saw that students after the pandemic were searching for connection and meaning after years of anxiety and fear.
“If you build it, they will come,” is his philosophy. There is Mass every day in the college chapel. And nowadays, after many years of absence, it has a resident chaplain, Fr Richard Wardell, who was a Victorian barrister before his ordination.
The high point of the week comes at 8pm on Sunday evening – the last Sunday Mass in Sydney, says Schembri with some pride. It is celebrated with great liturgical solemnity.
The music is stunning, as you would expect, for Schembri is also a musician and in 2008 was the director of the Sydney World Youth Day orchestra.
A choir of professionals and college residents sings music ranging from the 1970s classic “Sing a new song unto the Lord” to Palestrina motets from the 1570s.
“It’s an opportunity for our students to sing with the best in the country. An average choir doesn’t have the same impact, obviously, as one with this magnificence,” he says.
And the students are coming. On most Sundays the chapel is full.
“The college provides food and drink after Mass,” says Schembri, “and that always helps, because that builds the community.” They can rub shoulders with some of the college’s impressive alumni and council fellows.
Third, intellectual and spiritual enrichment. Schembri encourages visiting priests to give engaging homilies at Sunday Mass which teach students about their faith.
Most of them know little about it, even though four out of five residents are Catholics.
Fourth, engaging with the students. More than 20 years of experience at Harvard, UNSW and the University of Sydney has paid off.
Together with his wife and four young children, Schembri lives in the college and shares the residents’ lives.
His family loves it. Having a young family around reminds the students that they all come from families themselves and that they should aspire to set the example that would make their own families proud.
He personally interviews every applicant for a place in the college, usually accompanied by an undergraduate resident. It’s time-consuming but absolutely essential for setting high standards of behaviour.
Fifth: try hard to win every sport in the inter-college competition.
It’s not always smooth sailing, but Schembri is confident that his game plan is working. “The main point is getting the right applicants who share the vision that the college is a place of academic excellence which is forging positive formation as young people and Catholics.
“When they go out in the real world, they will be the leaders of this country.”
And above all it is helping residents return to their Catholic roots.
“The idea that young people don’t want religion or God is actually not true,” he says. “They are seeking for happiness more than ever before, just sometimes looking in the wrong places.
“Winning on the sporting fields is a sign of great effort, but the most impressive thing about these students is the way they look after each other and the way they really serve those in need in the community.”
31/10/25 – A correction was made by deleting an incorrect statement that Sunday Mass had not been celebrated at St John’s from 2016-2022.
