Volume 19, Issue 11-12

St Patrick’s Cathedral is more than just a beautiful, inspired, bluestone structure. It has become the venue of some of Melbourne’s most historic events, continually influencing generations of Catholics and leaving an indelible mark on the city in which it lives and breathes.

This Neo-Gothic-style Cathedral stands majestically in the surrounds of the Melbourne CBD as a feature of the city skyline. But the story of how the Cathedral became the incredible architectural landmark that exists today is a journey in itself. •

“(St Patrick’s) life story is an integral part of the history of that city and colony/state. It was born with their birth, grew with their growth, declined with their decline, prospered with their prosperity. Its future is part of their future. Melbourne is unimaginable without it.”
                     T.P. Boland, St Patrick’s Cathedral – A Life

The Wow factor 

‘Wow’ and ‘awesome’ are some of the remarks I have heard people express as they move through the front doors of our pilgrim Cathedral.

To enter this architectural gem is to enter into a timeless sacred space, aware that this is a place to discover wordless statements about our faith and the God Jesus reveals to us.

Young people gather here on Thursday nights for 6.30pm Holy Hour. They come to worship together as one, in each other’s company and in God’s. It is a time for adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, for the reading of Sacred Scripture, for praying and for contemplating God’s goodness and blessings.

On 10 July at 2pm Archbishop Denis Hart will welcome WYD pilgrims from all parts of the world to Days in the Dioceses Melbourne. We want everyone who visits St Patrick’s, especially young people, to experience the WOW factor too.

My fervent hope is that the Cathedral will be a place where all pilgrims will encounter Jesus, and be inspired to be better people, better Christians and discover anew what it means to be holy daughters and sons of God in the 21st century.

Very Rev Gerard Johnson, Dean, St Patrick’s Cathedral. 

St Patrick’s Timeline
•    1847 – Melbourne is made a diocese. In 1848, Pope Pius IX appoints James Alipius Goold as the first Bishop of Melbourne. At the time, St Francis’ Church on Lonsdale Street was his Cathedral.
•    1858 – Englishman William Wardell arrived in Melbourne. A celebrated architect, Wardell became the master architect for the Cathedral, fusing the architectural style of England’s Catholic past with a touch of Gothic Revival. He created a timeless piece of architecture that has endured for years and continues to today.
•    1868 – St Patrick’s becomes Melbourne’s Cathedral Church.
•    1874 – Melbourne is raised to the status of Archdiocese and James Alipius Goold is made the first Archbishop of Melbourne. Archbishop Goold had a great appreciation for Gothic tradition and Renaissance art, inevitably driving his vision for St Patrick’s Cathedral.
•    1973 – Pope Paul IV elects Melbourne as the venue for the 40th International Eucharistic Congress, to be celebrated at St Patrick’s Cathedral. The Congress — held every four years since the late 19th century — was attended by several state dignitaries and representatives of Christian churches. Several religious dignitaries visited Melbourne that week to give seminars, including Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta and (then) Archbishop of Krakow Cardinal Karol Wojtyla.
•    1974 – Pope Paul VI declares St Patrick’s Cathedral a Minor Basilica.
•    1977 – The crossed keys of St Peter were worked into the stone over the main entrance, formally signifying the Cathedral as one of the world’s significant cathedrals.
•    1986 – Cardinal Karol Wojtyla returns to Melbourne, this time as
Pope John Paul II, and addresses the clergy at St Patrick’s Cathedral.
•    April 2008 – The World Youth Day Cross and Icon, having travelled the world and touching the lives of millions for the past two decades,
is welcomed into the Cathedral by thousands of young Melbournians.
•    July 2008 – St Patrick’s Cathedral will again host one of Melbourne’s most significant events. Archbishop Denis Hart will celebrate a Welcome Liturgy for 25,000 young international pilgrims, formally commencing Days in the Dioceses Melbourne.