Our History

Father of the Funds: Fr James 'Jim' Wall

Early Life

Fr Wall was one of eight children born to Thomas and Bridget Wall. He grew up in Glenlyon, Victoria, in the Parish of St Peter’s, Daylesford. His initial career path led him to pursue teaching, a field he became extremely passionate about. 

Priesthood

Following his ordination on 29 July 1947, Fr Wall commenced as an assistant priest at Sacred Hearth Parish, Preston and served the Parishes of Essendon, West Essendon, Blackburn and Croydon. In 1993 he was appointed Pastor Emeritus of Sacred Heart Parish, Croydon. During his tenure as Diocesan Director of Vocations, more men entered the seminary than any other period.

Schools Provident Fund 

Fr Wall was credited for initiating the idea to build the first regional secondary school in Sacred Heart Parish, Preston. 

He founded the Schools Provident Fund (SPF) in 1956, which eventually became the major source of borrowing for Parish and regional schools at the time. Fr Wall served as the first Secretary and Administrator, where he was later bestowed the honorary title, ‘Father of the Funds.’ 

Upon opening in 1957, Sacred Heart Parish Primary School, Preston was an instant success, and laid out the framework to fund the construction of new schools in the archdiocese of Melbourne which was experiencing a post-war population boom. 

Legacy 

Fr Wall’s impact to the Roman Catholic Church in Australia was substantial. The Church investment fund movements subsequently spread throughout Australia and New Zealand, funding a wide range of Catholic infrastructure beyond schools. 

Pictured above: James Benedict Wall (14 June 1919 – 2 January 2002) was an Australian Roman Catholic priest, credited for founding Catholic Development Fund, then known as Schools Provident Fund.

Pictured below: Archbishop Little and Fr James Benedict Wall.

CDPF Limited, a company established by the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, has indemnified the Catholic Development Fund ABN 15 274 943 760 (the Fund) against any liability arising out of a claim by investors in the Fund. In practice, this means your investment is backed by the assets of the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne. The Fund is required by law to make the following disclosure. Investment in the Fund is only intended to attract investors whose primary purpose for making their investment is to support the charitable purposes of the Fund. Investors’ funds will be used to generate a return to the Fund that will be applied to further the charitable works of the Archdiocese of Melbourne and the Dioceses of Sale and Bunbury. The Fund is not prudentially supervised by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority nor has it been examined or approved by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). An investor in the Fund will not receive the benefit of the financial claims scheme or the depositor protection provisions in the Banking Act 1959 (Cth). The investments that the Fund offers are not subject to the usual protections for investors under the Corporations Act (Cth) or regulation by ASIC. Investors may be unable to get some or all of their money back when the investor expects or at all and investments in the Fund are not comparable to investments with banks, finance companies or fund managers. The Fund’s identification statement may be viewed here or by contacting the Fund. The Fund does not hold an Australian Financial Services Licence.