Thank you once again for returning our Chapel to St Bede’s College

Two months on from the opening of the new Chapel of St Bede we are reflecting on the incredible generosity of our community that has allowed us to once again have a dedicated place of worship on site. We are very thankful for the wonderful support we have received from Old Boys and extended friends of St Bede’s. We were without a dedicated Chapel since 2011 and while the College was committed to building a new one, we knew we couldn’t do it on our own.

From our earlier communications you will recall the budget for the Chapel rebuild was $3.5 million. $1 million was contributed by the College from their insurance settlement, while the Society of Mary generously donated $1 million. Our fundraising campaign was charged with securing the remaining $1.5 million by way of donations from Old Boys and Friends of the College. When we put out a call to our St Bede’s community to help us, you answered it. At the end of 2018, we had raised $700,000, leaving $800,000 to secure. At that point our campaign shifted focus from the "Little from a Lot" concept to instead approaching a smaller group of families and individuals who were committed to seeing the project completed; as part of this we developed a bespoke acknowledgements programme that recognises those donors within the walls of the Chapel. Our revised campaign was launched at the Feast Day Mass on 24 May 2019, and thanks to your generosity we secured the total amount of funds needed to reach our target in four months.

The Chapel is the heart and soul of our school and it is a clear statement of who we are and what we stand for. We are humbled by the efforts of our community to return the Chapel to the College and we are grateful that future generations of Bedeans will have a space to learn, to develop and express their faith.

We want to extend our sincere thanks to you for the important part you played in the success of this project.We would also like to mention that it has truly been a pleasure for us to have the opportunity to re-engage with Old Boys that we had lost contact with through this fundraising campaign.

There are ongoing opportunities for members of our community to be recognised for their support of the College within the walls of the new Chapel and we welcome you to talk with us if you or your family would like to discuss how you could be acknowledged.

Thank you again for your generous support and for making our Chapel, your Legacy.

Justin Boyle                   
Rector                                     

Hayden Ryan
Foundation Chairman