The arrival of the first Franciscans in Australia has left footprints that are a source of inspiration for future generations
By Joanna Lamek OFS
The first Franciscan footsteps in Australia belonged to Friar Claude-François Joseph Louis Receveur, also known as Père Laurent Receveur. After spending several years in the French Navy, he eventually discerned a priestly vocation and joined the Conventual Franciscan Friars near his hometown of Besançon. He later continued his studies at the University of Paris.
Fr. Receveur was a remarkably gifted young priest-scientist: a naturalist, botanist, geologist, philologist, astronomer, chemist, meteorologist, and the author of numerous scholarly papers presented to the French Academy of Sciences in Paris. He was among the seventeen scientists selected to join the La Pérouse expedition, commissioned by King Louis XVI to sail around the world and collect new plants for medicinal use. The expedition reached Botany Bay, Sydney, in 1788.
The La Pérouse voyage lasted three years and explored many regions previously unknown to Europeans. During an expedition on the island of Tutuila in Samoa, Fr. Receveur encountered resistance from the local population and suffered serious injuries. By the time the ships arrived at Botany Bay a few days later, his wounds appeared to have healed. Sadly, not long after landing, Fr. Receveur – only thirty years old – died unexpectedly. He became the first scientist, the first Catholic, and the first priest ever buried on Australian soil.
Beyond his scientific achievements, Fr. Receveur holds a special place in Australia’s spiritual history. Together with Fr. Abbé Jean-André Mongez, the expedition’s chaplain, he is credited with celebrating the first Holy Mass in Australia. While documentation of Masses celebrated aboard the ships has been lost, it is reasonable to presume that several were offered, given the Church’s obligation to celebrate Mass on Sundays and feast days, and as often as circumstances permitted.
The death of Fr. Receveur marked yet another historic moment: the celebration of the first Requiem Mass in Australia. Each year, on 17 February or the nearest Sunday, the anniversary of his death is solemnly commemorated. Franciscans and members of the wider Catholic community – together with representatives of the French Consulate – gather to honour the memory of the first Franciscan to set foot in Australia. This enduring tradition of remembrance speaks eloquently of Fr. Receveur’s significance and of the deep respect still held for his life, faith, and witness.
Catholic centre
After the earliest Franciscan presence in Australia, embodied by Friar Claude-François Joseph Louis Receveur, the Franciscan mission took firm root in the 19th century through Fr. Patrick Bonaventure Geoghegan, OFM (1805–1864).
Born in Dublin, Fr. Geoghegan became a Franciscan friar and later volunteered for the Australian mission. He arrived in Melbourne in 1838 and, a year later, was appointed the first and only parish priest of Melbourne, entrusted with the pastoral care of the entire Victorian region.
Determined to provide a spiritual home for the growing Catholic community, he began the construction of St Francis’ Church, today the oldest surviving Catholic church in Victoria, located at the corner of Lonsdale and Elizabeth Streets. On 4 October 1841, the feast of St Francis of Assisi, he laid the foundation stone. The first Holy Mass on the site was celebrated on 22 May 1842, and the completed church was blessed and opened on 23 October 1845.
St Francis’ Church soon became a cornerstone of Catholic life in Australia. St Mary of the Cross MacKillop was baptised there and later received her First Holy Communion and Confirmation. The site also hosted several historic firsts, including the first Catholic seminary in Victoria, the first Australian conference of the Society of St Vincent de Paul, and the first Christian Brothers school in Australia.
In 1859, Fr. Geoghegan was appointed Bishop of Adelaide, becoming Australia’s first Franciscan bishop. After five years of service, he returned to Ireland due to ill health and died in 1864, before taking up a later appointment as Bishop of Goulburn. Today, his legacy is remembered through a memorial in Dublin and a statue outside St Francis’ Church in Melbourne.
Australian born
The year 1904 marked the first Australian-born Franciscans joining the order: Cornelius Bartley and Basil Piper.
Fr. Bartley was born in Bendigo on 7 November 1877, into a family of twelve. Three of his brothers pursued the priesthood and three sisters joined religious life as nuns. He was ordained in Melbourne by Archbishop Mannix on 29 June 1913, and spent his life humbly serving one of the Franciscan communities in New South Wales.
Little is recorded about Fr. Basil Piper, but it is known that he served as parish priest at Mary Immaculate Catholic Church in Waverley, Sydney, and ministered to the nearby Christian Brothers College, which has been supported by Franciscan friars since 1902. From that time on, Catholic parishes and schools have played a vital role in shaping the moral and ethical values of the community, helping to ensure that faith and education remain at the heart of Australian life.
Fr. Bartley and Fr. Piper, by taking the first step to join the Franciscan Order, opened the path for many who followed. The first home of the Franciscan Novitiate was established in 1934 at Maryfields, Campbelltown, New South Wales. After a period of significant growth and expansion into Victoria, Queensland, and New Zealand during the 1930s, the Franciscan mission supported migrants after the devastation of World War II, administered multiple parishes across Australia, and built schools, convents, and churches.
The history of the Franciscans in Australia is one of faith, courage, and steady commitment. From the earliest friars to those who followed, they served local communities through parishes, schools, and pastoral care, helping to shape the spiritual life of a young nation. Their legacy endures in the lives they touched and in the Franciscan spirit that continues to be lived today.
As St Francis once said, “Your God is of your flesh; He lives in your nearest neighbor, in every person.”
Reprinted with kind Permission from the Messenger of Saint Anthony – Padua, Italy
