Australian Catholic Students Association

Australian Catholic Students Association

Motto	Via Veritas Vita ( The Way, The Truth, The Life )
Institution	Catholic Church
Location	Australia
Established	1942
President	Antonio Ryan-Da Cunha
Affiliations	Australian Catholic Bishops' Conference
Website	https://www.auscatholicstudents.com/

The Australian Catholic Students Association or ACSA is the peak body of Catholic students in Australia. ^[1] The body was founded in 1942 as the University Catholic Federation Australia (UCFA), and has been renamed several times. In 1974 it became known as the Tertiary Catholic Federation Australia (TCFA) and in 1990 it was renamed the International Movement of Catholic Students Australia (IMCSA). The body has been known as the Australian Catholic Students Association since 2001. ^[1]

ACSA is made up of Catholic tertiary students, predominantly from the eastern states of Australia. ACSA affiliated societies have a presence in many universities, including Macquarie University, the University of Sydney, the University of New South Wales, the University of Melbourne, Monash University, and the Australian National University. ^[2] It is officially supported by the Australian Catholic Bishops' Conference. ^[1]

The National President as of September 2025 is Antonio Ryan-Da Cunha. ^[3] The national patrons of ACSA are Tracey Rowland, head of the Australian John Paul II Institute for Marriage and Family, and Anthony Fisher, Catholic Archbishop of Sydney. ^[4]

History

Background

In 1921, Catholic student leaders from 23 countries met in Fribourg, Switzerland to create the International Movement of Catholic Students (IMCS). ^[5] Compelled to form an international union for peace after the events of World War I, national representatives were selected from Europe, the United States, Argentina, and Indonesia. ^[5]

While studying at the University of Paris in 1938, Australian theologian Rosemary Goldie was commissioned to bring the IMCS to Australia by the General Secretary Rudi Salat. ^[1] The Catholic Students' Society of the University of Sydney, the Newman Society, was affiliated in 1938, and intended to attend the 1939 World Congress. ^[1] However, the outbreak of World War II limited both the actions of the IMCS and the ability of Australian Catholic students to interact with their international counterparts. ^[1]

University Catholic Federation of Australia: 1942–1973

The loose connection to the IMCS inspired Australian Catholic university students to organise more formally. Plans for a 1940 national conference of all Catholic students were delayed due to World War II. The inaugural national conference was held in 1942 under the name of the University Catholic Federation of Australia (UCFA). ^[1] Founding members included E.H. Burke, neuroscientist John Eccles, and Rosemary Goldie. ^[6]

Tertiary Catholic Federation Australia: 1974–1989

In 1968, the movement was restructured and its focus moved from social activities to community building and social justice issues. In 1974, it was decided to re-structure the movement to make it more relevant to university students at the time and it was renamed the Tertiary Catholic Federation Australia (TCFA). ^[7]

International Movement of Catholic Students Australia: 1990–2000

The Movement then went through another restructuring period in 1990 when it was renamed the International Movement of Catholic Students Australia (IMCSA). ^[1]

Australian Catholic Students Association: 2001–today

Since 2001, the organisation has been called the Australian Catholic Students Association and has been hosting national conferences and various other activities. ^[1]

Events

National Conference

ACSA hosts an annual national conference. This conference involves a series of theological and philosophical talks, a celebration of the Mass, and the Mannix Ball. The Ball is named after Daniel Mannix, a former Archbishop of Melbourne. ^[8]

List of National Conferences ^[8]

Year	Theme	State	Venue	Mannix Addressor
2003	N/A	VIC	Janet Clarke Hall, Melbourne	Mark Coleridge SSD , Auxiliary Archbishop of Melbourne
2004	N/A	QLD	St Leo's College, Brisbane	James V. Schall SJ (cancelled due to illness)
2005	Be Not Afraid	NSW	St John's College, Sydney	No Mannix Address delivered
2006	How Can We Know the Way? [9]	VIC	Newman College, Melbourne	Barry Hickey OAM KC*HS , Archbishop of Perth
2007	The Church and the Next Generation	ACT	Abbey Function Centre, Canberra	Most Rev. Anthony Fisher OP , Auxiliary Catholic Archbishop of Sydney
2008	No conference held due to World Youth Day 2008 in Sydney.			George Cardinal Pell AC , Archbishop of Sydney
2009	Renewing all things in Christ	QLD	Duchesne College, Brisbane	Geoffrey Jarrett DD , Bishop of Lismore
2010	Rebuilding the Church and the World	NSW	Lake Hume Resort, Albury	Tracey Rowland DHS , Dean of the John Paul II Pontifical Theological Institute for Marriage and Family Sciences
2011	Authenticity [10]	NSW	University of Notre Dame, Sydney	George Cardinal Pell AC , Archbishop of Sydney
2012	Defending Human Dignity	VIC	Queen's College, Melbourne	Christopher Pearson, journalist and former proprietor of The Adelaide Review .
2013	Foundations of Faith	VIC	The Women's College, University of Queensland, Brisbane	Mark Coleridge SSD , Archbishop of Brisbane
2014	Build my Church	NSW	Lake Hume Resort, Albury	Tess Livingstone, journalist with The Australian
2015	For the Family. For the Faith.	VIC	Ormond College, Melbourne	Angela Shanahan, journalist with The Australian
2016	Providence in Plain Sight	NSW	Benedict XVI Retreat Centre, Sydney	Hon. Damien Tudehope, member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly.
2017	You Have Made Known to Me the Paths of Life	QLD	St Leo's College, Brisbane	Hon. Matt Canavan, Australian Senator
2018	I Am With You Always	VIC	Queen's College, Melbourne	Tracey Rowland DHS , Professor at University of Notre Dame Australia
2019	Be Not Afraid	NSW	St Joseph's College, Sydney	John A. McCarthy KC GCPO KCSG , Australian Ambassador to the Holy See from 2012 to 2016
2020	No conference held due to COVID-19 restrictions in Australia.			No Mannix Address delivered
2021	Who Do You Say I Am?	NSW	Held online due to COVID-19 restrictions	George Cardinal Pell AC
2022	Fight the Good Fight	NSW	University of Notre Dame, Sydney	No Mannix Address delivered
2023	Be Not Afraid	VIC	Queen's College, Melbourne	Tracey Rowland DHS , Professor at University of Notre Dame Australia
2024	Lux Mundi	NSW	St Joseph's College, Sydney	Columba Macbeth-Green OSPPE , Bishop of Wilcannia–Forbes
2025	Out of the Shadows	NSW	St John Paul II Catholic Student Centre, University of Sydney, Sydney	Danny Meagher, Auxiliary Bishop of Sydney

External links

• Official website

References

1. "Our Mission & Identity". Archived from the original on 2022-09-04. Retrieved 2022-09-04.
2. "Affiliated Societies". Archived from the original on 2022-09-04. Retrieved 2022-09-05.
3. "National Executive". Archived from the original on 2022-09-04. Retrieved 2022-09-04.
4. "Our Patrons". Archived from the original on 2022-09-04. Retrieved 2022-09-04.
5. "A Brief History of IMCS-Pax Romana – Pax Romana IMCS AP". Archived from the original on 2025-02-12. Retrieved 2025-02-12.
6. "University Catholic Societies Hold National Conference". Advocate. Melbourne. 19 February 1942. Retrieved 19 September 2025.
7. "Newsletter" . Retrieved 2025-02-12.
8. "Annual Conference". Archived from the original on 2022-09-04. Retrieved 2022-09-04.
9. "Breaking the Ice - The Catholic Leader". Archived from the original on 2025-02-12. Retrieved 2022-09-04.
10. "Catholic students embrace their faith - The Catholic Leader". Archived from the original on 2025-02-12. Retrieved 2025-02-12.