St Thomas Aquinas Church is a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

church building A church, church building or church house is a building used for Christian worship services and other Christian religious activities. The earliest identified Christian church is a house church founded between 233 and 256. From the 11th thro ...

located in

Springwood, New South Wales Springwood is a town in the Blue Mountains, New South Wales, Australia. Springwood is located 72 kilometres west of the Sydney CBD in the local government area of the City of Blue Mountains. At the , Springwood had a population of 8,475 peopl ...

, Australia. The church shares its grounds with the St Thomas Aquinas Primary School.

History

Whilst no physical building stood then, the Catholic Church at Springwood dates back to 1839, when it was part of the Penrith parish. At this time, Mass was offered by Fr. Charles Sumner at the Springwood Inn owned by Thomas Boland, and later offered at the Boland family home. During the period from 1890 to 1907 the church became a part of the Blue Mountains parish, under the parish priest Fr. James McGough. In 1892 the church was given a building of its own thanks to donations of land and money by the Boland family. This was the first church of St Thomas Aquinas (Springwood), and was located at what is now Rest Park, on Macquarie Road. The church later relocated to Hawkesbury Road, to what is now the site of a retirement villa, Aquinas Court. In 1920 a primary school was opened in the old church building. In November 1981 the first stage of the new St Thomas Aquinas Primary School opened at its current site within the St Columba's grounds, Hawkesbury Road. In 1986 the church relocated again, this time to the former seminary, and current co-educational

St Columba's Catholic College St Columba's Catholic College, formerly the St Columba's High School, is an independent Roman Catholic co-educational secondary day school, located in the Blue Mountains region, on the border of Winmalee and Springwood, in New South Wales, Aus ...

site. In February 1996, the current St Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church opened within the grounds of the St Thomas Aquinas Primary School, on Hawkesbury Road, Springwood.

Priests past and present

*Fr. Charles Sumner *Fr. James McGough *Fr. James Sheridan *Fr. P. C. Cregan *Fr. Daniel Galvin (first resident priest) *Fr. Thomas Leen *Fr. Canavan *Fr. Leslie Bagot *Fr. James O'Meara *Fr. Michael McGloin *Fr. Renato Paras *Fr. Peter Connelly *Fr. Alan Layt *Fr. Edward Tyler *Fr. Paul Slyney

St Thomas Aquinas Primary School

In December 2006, St Thomas Aquinas Primary School celebrated its 85th anniversary with the unveiling of the old school bell following its relocation, a dress-up for the students, a

barbecue Barbecue or barbeque (informally BBQ in the UK, US, and Canada, barbie in Australia and braai in South Africa) is a term used with significant regional and national variations to describe various cooking methods that use live fire and smoke t ...

, and a bushdance. The school opened in 1921 on the corner of Macquarie Road and Hawkesbury Road with 24 students. The school consisted of one building, the old church. At the time the school was staffed by Sisters Kevin and Catherine, and continued to be staffed by the

Sisters of St Joseph The Sisters of St. Joseph, also known as the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph, abbreviated CSJ or SSJ, is a Roman Catholic religious congregation of women founded in Le Puy-en-Velay, France, in 1650. This congregation, named for ...

until the late 1970s - early 1980s. In September 1939 a new school building was opened by Monsignor Phelan in the same location. In June 1962, with an enrolment of 187 students, an ]other school building was opened by Cardinal Gilroy. In 1969 a second storey was added to the 1939 building. In 1981–82 the school relocated to its current site on Hawkesbury Road. The school serves the communities of Springwood, New South Wales, Springwood,

Faulconbridge Faulconbridge is a village located in the Blue Mountains 77 km west of Sydney, New South Wales and is 450 metres above sea level. At the 2016 census, Faulconbridge had a population of 4,025 people. History and description The Faulconbrid ...

, Hawkesbury Heights,

Valley Heights Valley Heights is a small township of the City of Blue Mountains in New South Wales, Australia. It is about from Sydney and is located east of the township of Springwood. At the , Valley Heights had a population of 1,337 people. Valley Heig ...

, Warrimoo,

Winmalee Winmalee is a town in New South Wales, Australia. Winmalee is located 77 kilometres west of Sydney, in the local government area of the City of Blue Mountains. At the , Winmalee had a population of 6,593. Originally known as North Springwood ...

, and Yellow Rock. The school's motto is: ''Love One Another''. The school principal is currently Marina Hardy.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Thomas Aquinas Church (Springwood) Roman Catholic churches in New South Wales Roman Catholic churches in Sydney Buildings and structures in the Blue Mountains (New South Wales) 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Australia Springwood 1892 establishments in Australia