Press Release - DRP Project Completion

PRESS RELEASE – November 2025

Cultural, Social and Missionary Center Construction Project Project financed by the Department for Romanians Abroad

The Romanian Orthodox Parish of Saint Mary in Sydney, Australia, obtained, within the 2025 non-reimbursable funding session, the amount of 2,267,376.44 RON, granted by the Department for Romanians Abroad through contract DRP/C/88/02.06.2025. With the blessing of His Holiness Father Mihail, Bishop of the Romanian Orthodox Diocese of Australia and New Zealand, this funding is allocated to the project of construction of the Cultural, Social and Missionary Center. The project is being carried out on the property of the Romanian Orthodox Parish of Saint Mary in Sydney, at 64 Linthorn Ave, Croydon Park, 2133, NSW, Australia, during the period 07.04.2025 – 30.11.2025. The planned works include: pouring the foundation, erecting the ground floor masonry, pouring the first floor slab, erecting the first floor masonry, the roof frame, the metal roof and the interior lining. For the last 3 stages of the project, the necessary materials were purchased: windows and doors, roof tiles and rafters, mechanical ventilation elements, pipes and exhaust heads.

Importance of the project

In the context of the pastoral-missionary and liturgical activity carried out by our parish, a particularly important role is played by the perpetuation of the identity elements specific to the Romanian people, such as traditions, intangible heritage, language and other essential particularities for national unity. With the current funding, our parish wishes to develop, through construction, a space intended for catechetical, cultural, social-philanthropic and missionary activities.

Project objectives

• Promoting and protecting the religious, cultural and traditional values of the Romanian people. • Developing social and cultural projects. • Strengthening national consciousness in the multicultural Australian context. • Developing catechetical and educational, social and cultural projects, addressed to both adults and children.

The community to which the project is addressed

The project aims to create a space for the Romanian community in the Sydney area, united by the desire to keep the Romanian language, faith and traditions alive. The aim is to create a framework that responds to the concrete needs of the community, but also aims for the dignified integration of each person into Australian society, both in the short and long term.

Expected impact

• Creating an educational and cultural space for young people and children, in order to preserve the Romanian language and traditions. • Strengthening the identity and cohesion of the Romanian community in Australia. • Developing new projects with social, educational and cultural impact. • Enriching the spiritual and cultural life of the Romanian community.

The initiative proposed by this project facilitates the expansion of parish activities, since, especially in a foreign country, one's own, well-arranged space represents a fundamental element for the development of the Parish and the Romanian community. We thank the Department for Romanians Everywhere for the support provided, as well as all the donors and volunteers involved in this project.