St Mary’s Parish, originally belonging to the Brighton Mission, was established on 18th April 1883 by Archbishop James Goold. The present site was obtained in 1855 and the First Mass was said in a tent, in December 1864 by Archbishop Goold. The next day, he laid the first stone for the first St Mary’s Church, which was completed in 1866.
Initially our parish spanned from the mountains to the sea, from as far as Emerald in the Dandenongs to the Mornington Peninsular, Phillip Island and Western Port Bay and into South West Gippsland.
Our Parish has seen an amazing population growth, which is now compressed into a comparatively small but vital area.
Over the years these Parish boundaries have been whittled away with the emergence of new parishes - a healthy sign of a living church. There are now 40 Catholic Parishes within the original St Mary’s Parish Boundaries of 1883.
St Mary’s Parish Dandenong, a parish rich and alive with multiculturalism having more than 50 nationalities, which has been growing during the years and has still a total of nearly 1500 families.
St Mary’s is continuing to be built upon faith, commitment and generosity of its parishioners; St Mary’s has developed a strong sense of volunteering and active participation in the life of the Parish, many people help in many ways to contribute to the everyday and major events of the parish.
The future of the parish holds many challenges for us.
Statistical Data
· 1855 Parish Site donated from Crown Land
· 1866 First St Mary’s Church (Cost £1159)
· 1866 Eumemmerring Catholic School started
· 1883 St Mary’s Parish established
· 1886 Presbytery Built (Cost £1140)
· 1892 Second St Mary’s Church built (Cost £2200)
· 1912 Presentation Sisters arrived
· 1912 St Mary’s Catholic School opened
· 1924 New convent built in Langhorne Street
· 1958 St John’s Boys School opened under the direction of the De La Salle Brothers
· 1959 Third St Mary’s Church opened
· 1968 St Angela’s Girls School opened
· 1969 St John’s Boy’s School became St John’s Regional College
· 1977 St John’s and St Angela’s became fully Co-educational
· 1977 St Mary’s Parish Centre including the presbytery were built
· 1977 St Mary’s Community Centre was built
· 1993 Total Refurbishment and Solemn Dedication of St Mary’s Church
· 2003-7 Refurbishment of St Mary’s School
· 2007 Opening and Blessing of McQuade Court
2010 St Marys School Audituarium built
2012 St Mary's School Celebrated 100 years