St Peter Chanel Primary School in Regents Park recently celebrated (8 August) its centenary with a gala dinner for parents, friends and supporters at The Renaissance Lidcombe.
About 700 people attended the gala including chief executive officer of Catholic Schools NSW Dallas McInerney, executive director of Sydney Catholic Schools Danielle Cronin, and Sydney Bishop Tony Percy.
The school was opened in 1925 by two Sisters of St Joseph, the order founded by St Mary MacKillop. At that time, it had only 64 students, mostly from an Irish background.
Now home to approximately 380 students and 24 dedicated teachers, St Peter Chanel thrives under the spiritual and educational leadership of the Dominican Sisters of St Cecilia. Their strong presence shapes the school’s vision, values, and daily life, fostering a rich Catholic identity.
The school is vibrantly multicultural, with nearly all students speaking a language other than English at home.
“As we look forward to the next chapter in our story, we are striving to shape an authentic Catholic culture steeped in truth, goodness, and beauty,” said the principal, Sr Cecilia Joseph OP.
“In cultivating wonder, wisdom, and virtue, our school aims to be a place where students, staff, and families excel in faith, academic excellence, fidelity to the church, and holiness, witnessing to the truth and love of Jesus Christ, becoming their best selves in service of God and others.”
In her speech, Cronin sketched out a history of Catholic schools in Australia.
Even in colonial times, they cultivated a unique identity. “Catholics were a minority, many poor, Irish, and working-class,” she said.
“Yet, they carried a fierce conviction: that every child deserves not just literacy, but dignity. Not just education, but formation. Not just knowledge, but also faith.”
In the 1960s, Catholic schools began to receive substantial amounts of government funding and today educate about one-fifth of Australian children. But their focus has remained the same.
“Our schools, like St Peter Chanel, are not just institutions focused on bland utilitarian outcomes,” Cronin said. “They are ‘gardens of the soul’. They are places where children learn who they are, what they are capable of, and why they matter—and most importantly that they are loved to eternity.”
Several of the schoolchildren gave a snapshot of the history of St Peter Chanel and displayed video messages from two alumni who have become outstanding professional athletes— Daniela Galic, class of 2018, who plays for the Matildas and Vittsjö GIK in Sweden, and Adrian Segecic, class of 2016, who played for Sydney FC and is now moving to a European team.
 its centenary with a gala dinner for parents, friends and supporters at The Renaissance Lidcombe. ){kind=link}