Golden Jubilee of St Joseph`s SchoolPrint Page

The plaque, located on a sundial, commemorates the golden jubilee of St Joseph`s School.

1936 was a year that stands out in the memory of the people of Penola for it saw the return of the Sisters of St. Joseph, members of the order founded by their now most famous resident, Mary MacKillop, who was beatified in 1995. The Sisters, who had been away since 1885, travelled back by train and the scene at the Station was remarkable and there were some who claimed they witnessed extraordinary signs in the sky that day. It was certainly a day that had very special meaning for the Catholics of the town.

The school operated under the name St Joseph’s School from 1936 to the Golden Jubilee in 1986, when to mark the unique place Penola has in the history of the Josephite story and of Catholic Education in Australia the name changed to Mary MacKillop Memorial School.

The Archbishop of Adelaide, the Most Rev. A. Killian, D.D., will bless and lay the foundation stone of a school at Penola in memory of Mother Mary of the Cross—the foundress of the (Australian) Sisters of St Joseph. This ceremony will take place on Sunday, February 23rd, at 3 p.m. Penola is the cradle of this great Order. In November 1865, Mary McKillop daughter of Alexander and Flora McKillop (nee McDonald)—acquired an unused stable at Penola, and this was the first school room of the Sisters of St Joseph. From this humble begin ning the Order spread rapidly over Australia. To-day those Sisters have over 200 well equipped Convents and training colleges in the land of the Southern Cross. This year being the centenary of the State of South Australia, it was considered most opportune by the Rev. Father Sparkes that the Sisters of St. Joseph, after an absence of over 40 years, should return to Penola to undertake the education of the children in that district.
The Narracoorte Herald (SA), 28 January 1936.

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