St John's College, University of Sydney

ST JOHN'S COLLEGE

St John’s College is a place of residence within University of Sydney.

It was established on 1st July, 1858 and is now the second oldest residential university college in the University and the oldest Catholic College in Australia.

It was founded by Archbishop Polding, the first Australian Roman Catholic Archbishop, and named after the fourth Gospel (the Gospel according to St John the Evangelist). It claims itself to be the first Catholic College to be established in a pre-existing non-Catholic university in the English speaking world since the Reformation.

It is co-educational and houses 185 residences who are non-Catholics, non-Christians and the practicing faithful alike.

An interesting point is that within its chapel, a reliquary box is kept which houses the skull of St Bede the Lesser who was a Benedictine monk who died over 1000 years ago. 

Another special feature is the Peace Stone, which is the one of four peace stones erected outside Japan, and the only one in Australia. The stone is a 305 million year old granite slab found on the property of Georges Plains near Bathurst. It is about 2 meters high and is inscribed with a poem written by a famous Buddhist monk, Shunkai Bundo called “Four Seas are Brothers and Sisters. All nations are in peace.”

During the week of WYD, several events will take place in and around University of Sydney.