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From the Archives

As a Catholic school, St. Peter’s College had a position on its Board of Management designated as ‘Canonical Administrator’. The role of the Canonical Administrator was to ensure that the management and policies of St. Peter’s College were in line with the teaching of the Catholic Church.  The position is or was a common one on the boards of management of most Catholic schools.  In 1987, the St. Francis Xavier Junior Campus opened with Fr. James McGuigan as the Canonical Administrator. He held this position as a member of the St. Francis Xavier Board of Management, which was responsible for the over-sight of the Junior Campus, and by virtue of being the Parish Priest of St. Agatha’s Parish, Cranbourne. Fr. McGuigan was an enthusiastic supporter of St. Peter’s College. Unfortunately, his untimely death in 1991 meant he never saw his vision of St. Peter’s College come to fruition, as it was still the St. Francis Xavier Junior Campus at the time.  Fr. Herman Hengel succeeded Fr. McGuigan in both roles and was the first Canonical Advisor of St. Peter’s College when it opened, as St. Peter’s College in, 1994. Fr. Hengel remained in the position until the end of 2002.  In 2003, Fr. Andrew Wise became both Parish Priest and Canonical Administrator. His tenure ended in 2010. Fr. Denis O’Bryan was appointed Parish Priest and subsequently joined the Board of Management in 2011. This was also the year that the St. Peter’s College East Campus, now Clyde North, accepted enrolments and began classes on site at the Cranbourne Campus.  In 2015, the newly formed parish of St. Thomas the Apostle, Clyde North meant there were two canonical advisors: Fr. Joseph Abutu, Parish Priest of St. Agatha’s, Cranbourne and Fr. Denis O’Bryan, Parish Priest of St. Thomas the Apostle, Clyde North.  In 2018, the Board of Management became the Advisory Committee due to a restructuring within the Diocese of Sale whereby overall administration of Catholic schools came under the umbrella of Diocese of Sale Catholic Education Limited. The parish priests: Fr. Joseph and Fr. Denis remain as members of the committee as advisors.

St. Peter, Pray for Us.

Greg Nelson

College Archivist