The parish was established by Archbishop Duhig in 1913 with Fr (later Dean) O'Leary as parish priest. He held this post until the Augustinians arrived in 1952. So the parish has been under diocesan priests control for 39 years and the Augustinians for over 50 years.

The Good Samaritan Sisters opened the school in 1916 and later in the same year resided in Langlands where Villanova College is now situated.

The present church was opened in 1925. Since then a new convent has been built and the present parish hall in 1983. We celebrated the 50th anniversary of the opening of the church in 1975

St James' Parish now takes in Stones Corner, Greenslopes, part of Buranda some of Annerley and a small part of Coorparoo. The main roads that run through the parish are Old Cleveland Road, Logan Road and Cornwall Street. We would be considered as an inner-city parish now. Because of our convenient location and other factors, St James is a popular Mass centre for many people who are not resident in the Parish.

The spirit that the Augustinians have given to St James can be summed up in one word - HOSPITALITY. Their welcome is always sincere, no one appears to be turned away when they come for help, they respond to the needs of their people with concern and readiness especially the sick and the dying.

Mass attendances in 2001 - 500/600 at weekend Masses; 60 for weekday Masses. Figures could not be found for other years but it seems that numbers are declining at weekends but seem to be increasing for weekdays as some nearby parishes do not have Mass every day. Our Church building is popular for weddings (brides seem to like the long aisle to walk along!).

CONCERNS: Increasing age of parishioners and ministering to their special needs. During the past 2/3 years (2001-2003) the number of refugees especially from Africa has increased. Whilst they are fairly generously helped by the government, they tend to look to the church in quite a variety of ways.

The old St James Primary school which opened in 1914 was demolished and a new school was erected on the old tennis courts at the rear of the church. The year 2004 saw the commencement of a Prep year and enrolment in this section is at its peak (25). Before, after school and vacation care was based in a fine residence, previously owned by the parish, on the Rialto, Old Cleveland Road corner. There are no shortage of clients for this facility.

The Parish is presently (2007) staffed by Fr David Austin OSA (Parish Administrator), Fr Peter Hayes OSA., Fr Abel van der Veer OSA, and Sr. Margaret Shannon (Good Samaritan and former St. James Principal) who is assisting on a part-time basis. Secretary is Marilyn Taylor.

Sunday Mass times:

Vigil: 6.00 pm
Sunday: 7.30 am, 9.00 am and 6.00 pm

Address:

PO Box 1051 (165 Old Cleveland Rd)
Coorparoo DC Qld 4151

Phone: (07) 3397 1671
Fax: (07) 3394 3409

Website: www.stjames-coorparoo.org.au