Australian Catholic University’s Strathfield Campus has celebrated the 100th anniversary of its award-winning Italianate-Romanesque chapel in September 2025.
The centenary celebrations paid tribute to the Christian Brothers whose commitment to moulding the minds and hearts of future teachers, both professed religious and lay, shaped the foundations of the campus.
Completed in 1925, the Barron Memorial Chapel was named in honour of the Christian Brother’s then Provincial, Br Jerome Barron, who is credited with doubling the number religious professions between 1902 and 1925.
The chapel was built in response to the growing numbers in the Christian Brothers and coincided with the Golden Jubilee of Br Barron’s religious profession.
Consisting of a 22-metre bell tower and ornate Romanesque features – apart from the Celtic tracery, a nod to the Christian Brothers’ Irish origins – the chapel’s designers won the Master Architect’s Gold Medal at the Turin Exhibition of 1923.
The chapel’s centenary anniversary celebrations with members of the Christian Brothers, former and current staff and students are being held on 8 September.
ACU’s Strathfield Campus Dean Associate Professor Belinda von Mengersen said the Barron Memorial Chapel remained a significant place of worship for members of the campus community.
“The Barron Memorial Chapel here on our Strathfield Campus has been admired by members of the local community for 100 years,” Associate Professor von Mengersen said.
“In celebrating the centenary of our magnificent chapel, we not only honour the vision of the Christian Brothers but also the special role our chapel has played in fostering vocations to marriage, the priesthood, and religious life.”
Source: ACU
