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House Patrons

La Salle
John Baptist De La Salle was born in 1651 in France and ordained a priest in 1678. He dedicated himself to the education of poor youth. Out of this dedication grew the Congregation of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, popularly known as the Christian Brothers. In 1684, his first 12 followers were professed and were placed under the patronage of the Blessed Virgin Mary. John Baptist De La Sale provided free tuition to his students and is considered to be the father of modern teaching methods. The Order flourished and spread its throughout the world including Dubbo in 1927. Saint John Baptist De La Salle was canonised in 1900 and declared the Patron Saint of teachers in 1950. La Salle House is named in his honour.

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Lennon
Brother Julian Lennon was a De La Salle Brother, born in Ireland. He opened the De La Salle Boys College in Dubbo in 1927 and was the most prominent of the Brothers. He taught there for 6 years. He is remembered as a firm disciplinarian, a good teacher, hard but popular amongst the boys. At this time, the school was on the site of the Civic Centre. He taught the whole secondary school, and gained 100% results in the Intermediate and Leaving Certificates. He died in the 1960s in Sydney. Lennon House is named in his honour.

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McAuley
Catherine McAuley was born in Dublin in 1778. From an early age, Catherine decided that she would devote her life to helping the poor, to teach and to give them hope. In 1827, Catherine along with two others opened the Baggott Street House with 200 children. It became known as the House of Mercy. Catherine's motto was "you must fit children for earth without unfitting them for Heaven." In 1837, a new congregation was born and Catherine and her workers became the Sisters of Mercy. In 1880 the Sisters of Mercy arrived in Dubbo. They maintained that to teach well, kindness and patience along with a solid education must prevail. Her system of education was permeated by religion and taught in an atmosphere of love and faith. Her greatest influence as a teacher came from the recognition by all that she lived what she taught. McAuley House is named in her honour.

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Moore
Sister Marie Therese Moore was a Sister of Mercy who taught Music at St Patrick's Girls College, Dubbo in the late 1950s and early 1960s. She grew up at Wongarbon and finished her high-schooling in Dubbo. Sister Moore was elected as a national leader of the several thousand Australian Sisters of Mercy in 1966; recognition of her qualities of leadership. Moore House is named in her honour.

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St Johns College is named after St John, Apostle and Evangelist
In 1969, we became St Johns College, named after St John the Apostle. According to Biblical account, John was the son of Zebedee, a fisherman from Bethsaida who later served Jesus. He had been a disciple of St John the Baptist but then followed Christ together with Andrew, the brother of Peter and he became the beloved disciple of Jesus. He died at Patmos at the end of the first century. St Augustine wrote of John and the other disciples: "the disciples saw Our Lord in the flesh, face to face; they heard the words he spoke, and in turn proclaimed the message to us. So we have also heard, although we have not seen. We have fellowship with them, because we and they share the same faith".