Fr. Xavier Barry.
Fr. Xavier was born in Hobart. His father was a Public Servant so that family moved to Canberra for many years.
Xavier studied for the priesthood after attending St. Stanislaus Bathurst. He was ordained a priest in 1956. After being involved in pastoral work all over Australia he came Kogarah at the invitation of Peter McNamara in 1998, taking over from Fr. Brian O'Sullivan.
We are blessed to have Fr. Xavier at the College. To have a full time Chaplain on site is of tremendous benefit to both students and staff.
Our Wednesday morning masses bring a weekly opportunity for students and staff to take time out from the busy day to day happening's of school and reflect on the spiritual aspects of life and have time to engage in prayer and liturgy.
Over the last 11 years that Fr. Xavier has been at the College he has been heavily involved all aspects of school life. This has included presiding at school masses, be they opening masses, Mother's Day Masses,Father's Day Masses and Graduation Masses. His homilies at these events have provided inspiration to many people.
He has been active in Senior Retreats attending these on a regular basis.
He has been there as a source of solace and support for both students and staff at times of sadness, such as the deaths of Brian Jordan and Liljana Nova in 2007
In addition to these traditional areas Fr. Xavier has made a major contribution to the beauty of the school as an avid gardener. He has done significant work around the school, and taken a landscaping group each Thursday. The beautiful gardens which grace the school are in no small part due to Fr. Xavier's efforts.
On Wednesday 6th May, Fr. Xavier took part in a Centenary Interview. This can be seen you the YouTube Centenary Channel by following this link.