ST ANTHONY'S CHURCH, ALPHINGTON

St. Anthony’s Parish formally came into existence in 1915, after having spent a number of years under the Northcote Parish and operating as a “church of ease” for the growing number of Catholic families in the Fairfield/Alphington area. Fr. Michael Hayes was appointed as St. Anthony’s first Parish Priest in 1915 and a presbytery ,formerly the property “Rosebank”, was opened and blessed on St Anthony’s feast day 13th June 1915.

One of the primary objectives of the parish community was to secure a school building to provide for the educational and religious instruction of its youngest parishioners. It was with much enthusiasm that some 1,200 people gathered on St. Patricks Day 1917 to observe the official opening of the St Anthony’s Parish School, located at No 43 Austin Street.

In 1939 the parish suffered the loss of its original church which was burnt down by an arsonist. The Parish rallied to oversee the construction of a new church. This was achieved surprisingly quickly as it was blessed and opened in 1940. This is the building that exists with few structural changes to this day.

This post is part of the inSPIREd Sunday meme,
and also part of the Shadow Shot Sunday meme.