St Mary's Cathedral

St Mary's Cathedral is the spiritual home of Sydney's Catholic community. 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. It is dedicated to the "Immaculate Mother of God, Help of Christians", Patroness of Australia and holds the title and dignity of a minor basilica, bestowed upo

Despite the high-rise development of the central business district, the cathedral's 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 who consecrated the new forward altar. The cathedral was designed by William Wardell and built from 1866 to 1928. It is also known as St Mary's Catholic Cathedral and Chapter House, Saint Mary's Cathedral and St Mary's Cathedral. The property was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 3 September 2004.

St Mary's is full of treasures and devotional objects. Around the walls of the aisles are located the Stations of the Cross, painted in oils by L. Chovet of Paris and selected for St Mary's by Cardinal Moran in 1885. In the western transept is a marble replica of Michelangelo's Pietà, the original of which is in St. Peter's Basilica, Rome. This sculpture was brought to Australia for display in David Jones Ltd. department store and was later donated to the cathedral. Located previously in the crypt, where it was touched in the evening by the setting sun, was the Grave of the Unknown Soldier, a realistic depiction of a dead soldier sculpted by George Washington Lambert. Although previously visible to the public from above, the tomb has now been moved into the aisle of the cathedral, to give the public greater access to it. The crypt has an extensive mosaic floor, the achievement of Peter Melocco and his firm. This design has as its foundation a cross elaborately decorated like a vast Celtic illuminated manuscript, with rondels showing the Days of Creation and the titles of the Virgin Mary.

Treasures of the cathedral

The music team at St Mary's currently comprises the Director of Music, Thomas Wilson; the Assistant Director of Music, Simon Nieminski, and Assistant Organists Titus Grenyer and Dominic Moawad; and the Administrator of Music, Eleanor Taig.

As at 30 September 2003, the cathedral site is the oldest place maintaining its use as a place of worship for the Catholic community in Australia. It is the site of the original St Mary's Cathedral, the first Catholic church in Australia and is the first land granted to the Catholic Church in Australia. It also the oldest permanent place of residence of Catholic clergy and can be said to be the birthplace of Catholicism in Australia.The cathedral is associated with significant figures in the history of the Catholic Church in Australia, notably with Father Therry, archbishops Polding and Vaughan, Cardinal Moran and Archbishop Kelly. It is also associated with important persons of the 19th and 20th centuries, including governor Macquarie and Bourke and the architects Greenway, Pugin, Wardell and Hennessy. The cathedral is the seat of the Archbishop of Sydney and the mother diocese of Australia.The cathedral is of major architectural significance as the largest 19th century ecclesiastical building in the English Gothic style anywhere in the world. The Cathedral Chapter Hall located to the east is significant as the oldest building extant on the site, possibly the oldest surviving Catholic school building in Australia and evidence to suggest an important direct involvement in its design by Pugin.St Mary's Catholic Cathedral was listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 3 September 2004 having satisfied the following criteria.The place is important in demonstrating the course, or pattern, of cultural or natural history in New South Wales. The cathedral site is the oldest place maintaining its use as a place of worship for the Catholic community in this country. It is the site of the original St Mary's Cathedral, the first Catholic church in Australia, which was destroyed by fire in 1865. The site is significant for being the first land granted to the Catholic Church in Australia. Being the site where Governor Macquarie laid the foundation stone of the first St Mary's, the cathedral site symbolises the reconciliation of the Catholic Church and the Australian state. The site of St Mary's Cathedral is also significant as the oldest permanent place of residence of Catholic clergy in Australia. For these reasons, the site of St Mary's Cathedral can be said to be the birthplace of Catholicism in Australia.It is the place where the International Eucharistic Congresses of 1928 and 1954 were celebrated at St Mary's. The cathedral is also where the first pope to visit Australia celebrated Mass and, through its organists and choir masters, has played an important role in the musical history of Sydney. The Cathedral Chapter Hall located to the east is significant as the oldest building extant on the site. It is possibly the oldest surviving Catholic school building in Australia. The use of the Chapter Hall as a school and general purpose hall has been continuous since erection and its role as an early public meeting place is highly significant. The Chapter Hall is the oldest building on the St Mary's site.The place has a strong or special association with a person, or group of persons, of importance of cultural or natural history of New South Wales's history. The cathedral is associated with significant figures in the history of the Catholic Church in Australia, notably with Father Therry, Archbishops Polding and Vaughan, Cardinal Moran and Archbishop Kelly, all of whom are buried in the crypt. It is also associated with important persons of the 19th and 20th centuries, including Governors Macquarie and Bourke, and architects Greenway, Pugin, Wardell and Hennessy. The Chapter Hall's Gothic Revival style blends well with the cathedral and is aesthetically pleasing.The place is important in demonstrating aesthetic characteristics and/or a high degree of creative or technical achievement in New South Wales. The cathedral is sited along a ridge running north–south on the eastern edge of the central area of the city and projects a dominating and inspiring presence, its roof and towers rising up above the neighbouring buildings and trees. The four arms of its plan establish axes that link it to the harbour and Woolloomooloo, to Hyde Park and to College and Macquarie Streets. The long English form of the building restates and reinforces these axes, powerfully weaving the cathedral into the urban fabric. As well as providing majestic vistas from the harbour and Potts Point, from Hyde Park and the adjacent streets, and from the elevated viewpoints of many central city buildings, the cathedral offers from within beautifully framed and precious vistas of the surrounding city. It is the largest nineteenth-century ecclesiastical building in the English archaeological Gothic style anywhere in the world. The refinement and scholarship of its composition and details are of the highest rank. Together with St Patrick's Cathedral in Melbourne, St Mary's is the major ecclesiastical work of architect William Wardell, a Gothic Revival architect of international significance practising in Australia. The cathedral is a repository of many items of aesthetic significance from the stained glass windows to the altars, statues, vestments, liturgical objects, paintings and mosaics and is important as a venue for musical events and has a considerable role in the practice of bell ringing in Australia.The place has a strong or special association with a particular community or cultural group in New South Wales for social, cultural or spiritual reasons. St Mary's Cathedral is the seat of the Archbishop of Sydney and the mother diocese of Australia. In its physical and spiritual presence it proclaims the faith of the Catholic church. It is primarily a house of sacrament, prayer and worship. It is also a great civic edifice of importance to all the people of Sydney. Built on the site of the first official catholic church in the colony, the present cathedral complex links back through two centuries, without interruption, to the beginnings of the Catholic faith in Australia. It is a focus for the Catholic community of Australia, while through its musical and other artistic activities, it is an important part of the cultural life of Sydney.The place has potential to yield information that will contribute to an understanding of the cultural or natural history of New South Wales. A major sandstone building in Sydney, the physical fabric of the cathedral demonstrates the quality of craft, engineering skill and sense of place achieved in yellow block sandstone structures in Victorian Sydney. The completion of the southern front end of the cathedral by Hennessy Hennessy and Co. demonstrates innovative building technology at the beginning of this century, especially in the techniques employed in the construction of the foundations and crypt.The place possesses uncommon, rare or endangered aspects of the cultural or natural history of New South Wales. St Mary's is a rare example of the 19th century Gothic style Catholic cathedral. The chapter hall is the only remaining intact building relating to John Bede Polding, the first Archbishop of Australia.The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a class of cultural or natural places/environments in New South Wales. St Mary's Cathedral and Chapter House has represented the centre of Catholic worship and culture in Sydney (and arguably the State) since its construction in the 1870s.