Above: Fr John Neill OP OAM with Blackfriars Priory School students in 2016. 

For 200 years Catholic schools have been established and staffed by pioneer clergy, religious and lay educators, many of whom devoted their entire lives to Catholic education. 

“Let us not forget the pioneer Catholic families and the early priests and teachers whose faith, courage and understanding enabled them to build and staff a network of schools.” (McGee, C. 2017). 

This lifelong contribution to Catholic education is exemplified through the work of Fr John Neill OP OAM, who passed into eternal rest on Saturday 21 August at the age of 89. 

Archbishop of Sydney Anthony Fisher OP said Fr John was a man of faith, modesty and real kindness. 

“He was a loyal son of St Dominic, a true pastor and a much-loved university chaplain,” he said. 

“Fr John made a quite extraordinary contribution to Catholic education in this country.”

National Catholic Education executive director Jacinta Collins said Fr John was a passionate advocate, who made a remarkable contribution to Catholic education in Australia. 

“Fr John’s work as a teacher, school leader and instrumental champion of tertiary Catholic education, exemplifies the enduring contribution the clergy have made to Catholic education in Australia over 200 years.”

“In honouring Fr John, we also acknowledge his contribution as a member of the National Catholic Education Commission,” Jacinta said in statement. 

The University of Notre Dame Australia’s vice chancellor Professor Francis Campbell praised Fr John a one of the founding fathers of Catholic universities in Australia and a leading light in Catholic education.

“Fr John made such a unique and rich contribution to our University, to its very creation and growth and Fr John was one of those visionary leaders who stepped forward to create what we have today,” Prof Campbell said in a statement.  

"While we are greatly saddened by the loss, we are thankful to have known Fr John and to have benefited so much from his love and commitment."

Australian Catholic University vice chancellor and president Professor Zlatko Skrbis said Fr John impacted the lives of many staff and students at the university in its foundational years, an impact that continues to resonate today in the mission and values of ACU that he worked so passionately with others to instil at the university’s establishment in 1991.

“He brought his extensive experience in Catholic education, deeply influenced by his Dominican charism and always ensuring the foundations of ACU were firmly anchored on the heritage and traditions of the university’s predecessor colleges,” Prof Skrbis told the Catholic Weekly.

Fr John spent 25 years at Blackfriars Priory School in Adelaide starting as a teacher in 1963 and then became headmaster from 1972 to 1988. He was the fifth headmaster of the school and each year the Fr John Neill Scholarship supports a Year 12 student in need, providing assistance for the tuition and school expenses.

He served for a time as chair of the South Australian Commission for Catholic Schools, as a member of the Standing Committee of the Headmasters Conference of Australia and as a member of the National Catholic Education Commission.

Fr John was the University of Notre Dame Australia’s (UNDA) first employee, establishing and became director of the Notre Dame Planning Office in 1988, that preceded its formal foundation in the 1989 and brought to life the first Catholic university in Australia.

He was also a foundation member of the company of the Australian Catholic University and served as a member of the ACU senate. 

Read more about the life of Fr John Neill

Reference: McGee C. 2017 'Catholic Education in Colonial New South Wales'.