Assessment Task – Expressions of Catholic Identity
Saint Patrick’s Cathedral
The Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne is based around Saint Patrick’s Cathedral. Saint Patrick’s Cathedral is seen as the finest religious building in Australia and an outstanding demonstration of neo-gothic architecture. This Cathedral was built during a time when the majority of Catholics in Melbourne were Irish. For this reason the Cathedral was named after the patron saint of Ireland; Saint Patrick. Today, the Catholic community in Australia has grown to be very large and is no longer predominantly Irish. The word Catholic is derived from the word katalicos, which translates to universal. To be Catholic is to be welcoming and include everyone, a universal religion.
There are many features of the Cathedral that are relevant to the church’s history and have meaning for us today. On the interior of the Cathedral, the large and beautiful stained glass window is extremely symbolic and has a deeper …show more content…
It has always been a very important place of faith, worship and prayer for the Catholics of Melbourne. Today, Saint Francis’ is the busiest Church is Australia with around 10 000 people visiting per week. This Church was build in the 1840’s, designed by architect Samuel Jackson and dedicated to Saint Francis of Assisi. The foundation stone of the Church was laid on 4 October 1841, the feast day of Saint Francis. Saint Francis’ Church is built on the original land that was given to the Catholic Church in victoria. It was here where there was the first Catholic seminary in Victoria and also the first conference in Australia for the society of Saint Vincent de Paul. Saint Francis’ was the church where Saint Mary MacKillop was both baptised and made her first communion. While the Church was being built in the heart of Melbourne, a small timber chapel was positioned on the