Penola Catholic College was established in 1995 and is set on 27 acres over two campuses. Three former schools were combined into two campuses, Sancta Sophia College at Glenroy and Therry and Geoghegan Colleges at Broadmeadows. The College name, Penola Catholic College, was chosen for the strong connection between Broadmeadows campus with Saint Mary MacKillop Sisters of St Joseph who established a foundling home on the site in 1901. Mary MacKillop opened her first school in 1866 in the small town of Penola, in the southeastern part of South Australia. Together with Fr Julian Tenison Woods, Mary MacKillop founded the order of the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart. From 1901 until the late 1980s, the Sisters of St Joseph ministered to the local community and lived on this site.