Interior St Marys Cathedral Sydney New South Wales Australia
The Cathedral Church and Minor Basilica of the Immaculate Mother of God, Help of Christians (colloquially, St Mary's Cathedral) is the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney and the seat of the Archbishop of Sydney, currently Anthony Fisher OP. The cathedral is dedicated to the "Immaculate Mother of God, Help of Christians", Patroness of Australia. St Mary’s holds the title and dignity of a minor basilica, bestowed upon it by Pope Pius XI on 4 August 1932. St Mary's has the greatest length of any church in Australia (although it is neither the tallest nor the largest overall). It is located on College Street in the heart of the City of Sydney where, despite the high rise development of the Sydney central business district (CBD), its imposing structure and twin spires make it a landmark from every direction. In 2008, St Mary's Cathedral became the focus of World Youth Day 2008 and was visited by Pope Benedict XVI. Background. Statue of Our Lady, Help of Christians in the cathedral Sydney was colonised on 26 January 1788, as a penal settlement governed in the name of King George III by Captain Arthur Phillip, for prisoners transported from Britain. A good number of the people to arrive in Sydney at that time were military, some with wives and family. There were also a number of free settlers. The first chaplain of the colony was the Reverend Richard Johnson of the Church of England. No specific provision was made for the religious needs of those many convicts and settlers who were Roman Catholics. To redress this, an Irish Catholic priest, a Father O’Flynn, travelled to the colony of New South Wales but, as he arrived without government sanction, he was sent home. It was not until 1820 that two priests, Father Conolly and Father John Therry, arrived to officially minister to the Roman Catholics in Australia. Father Conolly went to Tasmania and Father Therry remained in Sydney.
Size: 7000px × 4672px
Location: Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Photo credit: © Alexander Kondakov / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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