Fr John L. Neill op, Parish Priest

I was born and raised in Sydney. I joined the Dominican Order at age 23 in 1955. I was ordained in 1960 and in 1963, following further study, I was assigned to Blackfriars Priory School in Adelaide. I spent 25 years at the school, as a teacher and administrator in both the primary and secondary departments. In 1973, I was appointed Head Master, a position I held until June 1988. During those years, I was, at various times, Chair of the South Australian Commission for Catholic Schools and a member of the National Catholic Education Commission. Also, during those years, in common with my fellow Dominicans, I supplied Sunday Masses in various Adelaide parishes. In July 1988, I went to Perth to become Director of the Planning Office for what was to be the University of Notre Dame Australia. I was the first person employed on this historic project. In July 1990, I was elected Prior of St Dominic’s, Melbourne, the formation and study centre for the Dominican Province. At this time, I was appointed a Trustee of UNDA, one of the twelve responsible for the distinctive Catholic nature of the University.

In August 2000, I returned to Sydney and was engaged by the Catholic Education Office to join the Spirituality Team. It was established to deepen the Faith of the teachers in our Catholic schools.

With the coming to Sydney of UNDA, I received a joint appointment by Cardinal Pell and the Vice Chancellor as Parish Priest of St Benedict’s and Chaplain to the Broadway campus of the University. This work began on 1st March 2004. A major task since then has been the repair and upgrading of our historic and beautiful church. Also the restoring of the tradition of fine church music and formative preaching at Mass.

I will continue to do all I can to guide the parish in the attaining of the ideals set out in our mission statement. Please pray for me as I do for you—parishioners, students and visitors.

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