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ST MARY'S CATHEDRAL, SYDNEY
St Mary's Cathedral is the largest Roman Catholic church in Australia (and reputedly the Southern Hemisphere).
St Mary's Cathedral is the seat of Australia's Cardinal, George Pell and holds the title and dignity of a Minor Basilica, bestowed upon it by Pope Pius XI in 1930. Edward Cardinal Clancy and Edward Cardinal Cassidy are both retired resident Cardinals in Australia. The present St Mary's is the second church of that name to occupy the site abutting College Street, Sydney. The foundation stone for the first building was laid by New South Wales Governor Lachlan Macquarie and blessed by the colony's Catholic chaplain, Father Therry, on 3 May, 1821. The building was built of stone in a naive Gothic style, modified in 1851 in line with designs by A W N Pugin, and was destroyed by fire on 29 June, 1865.
Looking up from the east Aisle one can see the two types of vault used in the Cathedral the wooden fan type vault is used in the north (right). The Bell tower sits on top of the four columns.
Foundation
The foundation stone for a new building, designed in Gothic-revival style by William Wilkinson Wardell was laid by Archbishop John Bede Polding in 1868. St Mary's was declared complete in 1928, and Archbishop Michael Kelly opened the building on 2 September of that year. However, due to a lack of funds the spires designed by Wardell for the cathedral's two main towers were not constructed until 2000 - 132 years after work first began on the building. With the completion of the spires, which are 74.6 metres in height St Mary's became the third-tallest church in Australia, after St Patrick's Cathedral, Melbourne, and Sacred Heart Cathedral, Bendigo. Of a slightly smaller scale than St Mary's, is William Wardell's other great neo-gothic church, St Patrick's Cathedral, Melbourne. Both cathedrals share the honour with New York of being home to the largest cathedrals constructed during the 19th century.
Sacred music and Pipe Organs
In 1999 a new pipe organ was built by Messieurs Letourneau of Montreal, Quebec to supplement the 1942 Whitehouse organ in the rear gallery and the 1959 Sharp organ in the triforium above the chancel. Two main choral groups that perform music at the cathedral: the St. Mary's Cathedral Choir of men and boys (directed by David Russell) and the St. Mary's Singers (directed by Michael Hissey). The Cathedral Choir performs every Sunday of the year except January at solemn high mass and at major festivals including Christmas Eve midnight mass and the great vigil of Easter. The St Mary's Singers is an adult choir of mixed voices who perform regularly in the Cathedral and on special liturgical days and for weddings and functions.
See also
References
- O'Farrell, Patrick (1977). The Catholic Church and Community in Australia. Thomas Nelson (Australia), west Melbourne.
External links
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