The Xavier Catholic College community in Hervey Bay has a new, dedicated space for prayer and worship following the official opening and blessing of the Saint Francis Xavier Chapel.
The chapel was officially opened during a special ceremony at the College on Wednesday, 26 July,2023.
Fr Adrian Farrelly, together with Fr Jacob Kalu, led the official blessing of the chapel. Member for Hinkler Keith Pitt and Member for Hervey Bay Adrian Tantari were also among the dignitaries who joined Xavier Catholic College Principal Simon Dash, staff, students, representatives of Brisbane Catholic Education and the local community in celebrating the occasion.
The chapel is easily accessible and one of the first buildings visible when entering the College, providing a warm welcome to campus visitors.
Contractors began working to restore the chapel in February this year after it was relocated from its original standing in Woolooga.
Formally the Saint Francis Xavier Catholic Church, the church was established in 1920 to service the small rural community north‐west of Gympie.
However, a declining population saw Woolooga amalgamated into the Gympie Parish and the church was decommissioned in 2018.
Mr Dash said the chapel would now provide the Xavier Catholic College community with a dedicated space for prayer and worship.
“As a Catholic School in the Jesuit Tradition, it’s important that we have a place that provides focus for our spirituality. The chapel is also a very visible sign of our identity,” Mr Dash explained.
“Our Motto is ‘Finding Jesus in all Things’ which means our encounters with God happen everywhere and every day. However, in the busyness of everyday life, we can fail to recognise this.
“The chapel provides a quiet and sacred space where we can reflect on the many ways that God touches our lives and express our gratitude for God’s grace,” he said.
Mr Dash said it was a rollercoaster of emotions watching life being breathed back into the chapel.
“When it was first moved to the College, with its paint stripped and the roof transported separately, I thought ‘What have I done?” But now that it has been completely refurbished it looks fantastic.
“I think for the people of Woolooga there is a peace of mind that their decommissioned church will, once again, be used for prayers and liturgies. It’s also good for our students to have a sense of the building’s heritage. It’s a way to help them realise the practice of our faith connects us to generations of Christians,” Mr Dash said.
The delivery and completion of the restoration project is also helping mark a major milestone in the history of Xavier Catholic College.
Xavier is celebrating 20‐years of providing a quality Catholic education in Hervey Bay, with the College welcoming its first cohort of students in 2003.
Mr Dash said it was an exciting time for the entire community.
He said the milestone would also provide the school with an opportunity to reflect on the College; where it has come from, where it stands now and what impact it will have on the region’s future.
