Run by the Capuchin friars for the past 75 years, St Fiacre has been a place for Italians to gather and strengthen ties to their homeland, while also assisting the community to thrive by integrating into Australian society. 

On Thursday October 28, the Capuchin friars celebrated 75 years of activity in St Fiacre.

Father Atanasio Gonelli was the first parish priest of St Fiacre.

The church was entrusted to the Capuchins, who felt the need to travel to Australia to take care of the increasing number of migrants who came to Sydney in search of a better life.

Post-war Italy was a different beast, full of rubble, hunger and desperation, and the long passage to Australia offered hope and promise.

Within a few years, Leichhardt became the unofficial seat of Sydney’s ‘Little Italy’, abounding in Italian businesses, restaurants and citizens.

The migrants who arrived in Sydney Harbour often didn’t have enough money to feed themselves, having gone into debt to buy their tickets for the ship.

Many didn’t speak English, or even Italian, preferring instead their native dialects from their own regions.

Back in Italy, education was a luxury and only children from rich families could afford to attend classes, while poorer children worked to support their families, starting jobs as young as five or six.

The Capuchin friars from St Fiacre Church would wait at Sydney Harbour, ready to welcome the tired, impoverished migrants.

The friars helped to organise accommodation, language services, education and employment for the migrants, assisting them in building their new lives.

They would hold masses, weddings and baptisms in Italian, maintaining ties with a distant homeland.

Numerous religious associations were born from the St Fiacre community, and many still celebrate the Italian and regional traditions from all over Italy.

The first Italo-Australian institutions were also born from the church, including this newspaper, which would become a point of reference for the Italian community for years to come.

Father Atanasio had the idea to hold cinema evenings, where Italian films would be screened to the delight of the community, as there was no other place to watch them in Sydney.

A football team was formed, along with social initiatives that gave the Italian community space to celebrate their heritage and customs, so that, as more and more migrants arrived, there was infrastructure in place to support them.

When Father Atanasio sadly passed away, he left behind a legacy that continues to support Italo-Australians today.

The Italian community still gather in St Fiacre, for religious, social and solemn events, thanks to the work and care of the Capuchin friars.