Villanova College

Villanova College located in Coorparoo, Brisbane is a a private, Roman Catholic school for boys from Year five to Year 12. At present, the School has an approximate enrolment of 1,340 boys in all three levels - Junior, Middle and Senior school. The school was established in 1948 by six Irish priests led by Father Ben O’Donnell under the Order of St Augustine.

The Order of St Augustine is a religious community of fathers and brothers who have had a well established presence in the education realm for the last 600 years. The Augustinians run numerous schools and universities in nearly every part of the world. In Australia, Villanova College was the first Augustinian school to open in 1948 followed by its brother school, St. Augustine’s College in Brookvale, Sydney in 1956.

Like many other Catholic schools in Australia, Villanova College has been embroiled in allegations dealing with child sexual abuse. The allegations deal in particular with one individual - Father Michael Ambrose Endicott. Father Endicott was in charge of pastoral care and religious education at Brisbane's Villanova College during the 1970s. In 2010, he pleaded guilty to two counts of indecent treatment of a child going back to the late 1970s. He was given a one-year jail sentence (wholly suspended). In 2019, Father Endicott was again found guilty of indecently dealing with a schoolboy from Villanova College in 1975. However, Father Endicott was able to quash the verdict on appeal arguing that Queensland law at the time did not consider taking nude photographs of a child to be indecent dealing.

We invite former victims of Father Endicott or by any other member of Villanova College to tell us confidentially what information they may have, and we will explain what options are available to help with these cases.

Call us or complete the confidential enquiry form below.