St Ignatius Catholic Church

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The Roman Catholic Church of Saint Ignatius Loyola is a heritage-listed church at 46 Grove Street, Toowong, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by architect John Francis Hennessy, junior and built from 1929 to 1936 by Concrete Construction (QLD) Limited. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 12 July 2005.HistoryThe Roman Catholic Church of Saint Ignatius Loyola at Toowong was opened in 1930 and is a Romanesque building designed by Sydney architect John Francis Hennessy. It was constructed as part of Archbishop James Duhig's vision for the development of the Church in Brisbane through a major building program that included several such landmark churches.Although there was European settlement at Toowong in the 1860s, the area did not develop until the opening of the Brisbane to Ipswich railway line in 1875 made it readily accessible. A number of villa houses were constructed on large estates on the Toowong ridge, while more modest residences occupied the lower levels. The first St Thomas Church of England opened in 1875 and by 1878 Toowong had enough families to warrant a provisional school.In 1879, the first Catholic Mass was celebrated at Toowong in a private home, as there was no church in the area. Catholics living in the area attended St Stephens Cathedral in the Brisbane central business district. In 1888 Archbishop Robert Dunne purchased land in Holland Street below the site of the present church and on 9 April 1893 the new timber church, called St Michael and the Holy Souls, was blessed and opened there.