With the growth of Annerley in the early 1900’s, Catholics who were having to walk more than five kilometers to St Joseph Church Kangaroo Point, approached the then archbishop, James Duhig, who purchased land in October 1912, and then blessed the newly constructed church (with eventual classrooms underneath) on June 14 1914. This original wooden church stood where the Marymac Centre now stands, and could hold up to 300 people. Known as the “Ipswich Road Parish”, this new community of faith took in the present parishes of Coopers Plains, Corinda, Darra, Graceville, Inala, Moorooka, Oxley, Salisbury, Sunnybank and Woodridge(!) The parish priests travelled on horseback, until parishioners purchased a ‘T’ model Ford in 1920.
Only ten years after the opening of the original church, Archbishop Duhig announced the building of a new parish church, to meet the demands of the rapidly growing parish. It was to be built in memory of