St Gabriel's Catholic Church

The St Gabriel's Catholic Church, Reservoir is in the Parish of Reservoir/St Gabriel's and part of the Archdiocese of Melbourne. The parish was established in 1936, with Fr Patrick Ryan the first priest. The first Mass in Reservoir was celebrated about 1919, in what was then the Church of England Hall. The first church building was the relocated Sacred Heart church building from Bell Street, Preston which was moved to Viola Street. The building at its new site was named St Gabriel's, and was blessed by Archbishop Mannix on 26/2/1926. Priests from the Preston Parish celebrated Mass at Reservoir until the parish was established. By 1960s the wooden building had become too small, and the present building was erected/opened. The parish was reduced to its present size when the East Reservoir parish was formed in 1957 , and the North Reservoir parish was formed in 1970. St Gabriel's celebrated its fortieth anniversary in 2000. To mark the occasion the building was refurbished and consecrated on 20/10/2000 by Archbishop George Pell. A new parish centre was erected in 2001, which was opened and blessed by Archbishop Denis Hart. (Sourced from: https://www.stgabrielsreservoir.org/our-community/history). More historical information/photographs of the church/congregation are invited. Photographs uploaded 20/2/2026.

 

 

 

For more information see God is Strength, written by Jim Carroll to mark the church's fortieth anniversary. It is available from the church office. Not sighted.