St Mary's Cathedral, Perth, officially the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is the cathedral church of the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Perth The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Perth is a Latin Church metropolitan archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Australia covering the Greater Perth, Goldfields-Esperance, Peel and Wheatbelt regions of Western Australia. St Mary's ...

, and

seat A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but also headquarters in a wider sense. Types of seat The following are examples of different kinds of seat: * Armchair (furniture), ...

of its

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

, currently

Timothy Costelloe Timothy John Costelloe SDB (born 3 February 1954) is an Australian prelate of the Catholic Church. He is the ninth archbishop of the Archdiocese of Perth, appointed in February 2012. Life and ministry Educated in Melbourne at St Peter's Ea ...

. The cathedral is at the centre of Victoria Square, on the northern end of

Victoria Avenue, Perth Victoria Avenue is a street in the central business district of Perth, Western Australia. At the northern end of Victoria Avenue is Victoria Square enclosing St Mary's Cathedral. South from Victoria Square, it crosses Hay Street, and is the ...

, Western Australia. The cathedral as it now stands was constructed in three main phases, with the first phase completed in 1865. Plans were drawn up for the replacement of the cathedral in the 1920s with a larger

Perpendicular Gothic Perpendicular Gothic (also Perpendicular, Rectilinear, or Third Pointed) architecture was the third and final style of English Gothic architecture developed in the Kingdom of England during the Late Middle Ages, typified by large windows, four-c ...

edifice. However, construction was interrupted by the onset of the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, leaving a new

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building withi ...

and

sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a saf ...

, with the

aisle An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, certain types of buildings, such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, parl ...

of the original cathedral as its

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

. After being incomplete for 70 years, with portions of the cathedral requiring extensive repair work, funds were eventually raised in the late 1990s and early 2000s for the completion of the expansion. A new curved design for the expansion was created, and featured a second spire and underground parish centre. The cathedral closed for construction in 2006, and reopened in December 2009.

History

The first Roman Catholic church in the colony was

St John's Pro-Cathedral St John's Pro-Cathedral is located at 18 Victoria Avenue in Perth, Western Australia. It is the earliest Roman Catholic church building in Western Australia. Built form The Cathedral is constructed of brick that has been covered with lime rend ...

on Victoria Avenue. The colony eventually outgrew this small church, and the local Bishop expressed an interest in constructing a "more worthy Cathedral".

First stage: 1865 to 1930

The

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

Brothers from Subiaco and

New Norcia New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

had constructed the Bishop's Palace facing Victoria Square. The square had originally been named "Church Square", and had been set aside for the construction of a

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

cathedral. However, the early Anglicans in the colony considered the location to be too far from the centre of the fledgling colony, and instead constructed St George's Cathedral on what is now

St Georges Terrace St Georges Terrace (colloquially known as "The Terrace") is the main street in the city of Perth, Western Australia. It runs parallel to the Swan River and forms the major arterial road through the central business district. Its western e ...

. Bishop Serra therefore applied to the

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

of the colony to cede the land in Victoria Square to the Roman Catholic Church, which occurred on 13 August 1859. Bishop Serra travelled to Rome, and while there received a donation of 1,000

scudi The ''scudo'' (pl. ''scudi'') was the name for a number of coins used in various states in the Italian peninsula until the 19th century. The name, like that of the French écu and the Spanish and Portuguese escudo, was derived from the Latin ''scu ...

from

Francis II of the Two Sicilies , image = Francesco II of the Two Sicilies.JPG , caption = King Francis II , succession = King of the Two Sicilies , reign = 22 May 1859 – 20 March 1861 , predecessor = Ferdinand II , successor = ''Ki ...

. He also secured a donation of marble from the Benedictine Brothers of the Monastery of Saint Paul Outside the Walls, which was used to construct the cathedral's altar. This altar arrived at the colony in 1862. On 8 February 1863, Bishop of Perth

Rosendo Salvado Rosendo Salvado Rotea OSB (1 March 1814 – 29 December 1900) was a Spanish Benedictine monk, missionary, bishop, author, founder and first abbot of the Territorial Abbey of New Norcia in Western Australia. Early life and background Salvado was ...

laid the foundation stone of the cathedral. Because of labour and fund shortages, construction of the cathedral progressed slowly. Benedictine masons would walk daily between their Monastery in Subiaco and the construction site. In January 1864, construction was suspended because of a lack of money. Eventually further funds were raised and the building completed, for a total cost of £4,000. The cathedral was blessed and opened on 29 January 1865. Benedictine Oblate Brother Joseph Ascione designed the cathedral in the Norman Gothic style. The cathedral's walls were built from clay bricks from a property in Adelaide Terrace. Between 1897 and 1910, alterations were made to the cathedral to emphasise its Gothic character, including the addition of a spire to its bell tower.

Second stage: 1930 to 1999

St Mary's Cathedral, Perth - 1929 expansion

In 1924, Bishop Clune started an appeal to fund the construction of a larger cathedral. Architect Michael Cavanagh designed the new cathedral in the Academic Gothic style. Architect John Cyril Hawes described the proposed design as "bastard Gothic" and proposed instead a large Romanesque cathedral. His plans were rejected, with the clergy instead opting for the Gothic design. Hawes went on to design St Francis Xavier Cathedral in

Geraldton Geraldton (Wajarri: ''Jambinu'', Wilunyu: ''Jambinbirri'') is a coastal city in the Mid West region of the Australian state of Western Australia, north of the state capital, Perth. At June 2018, Geraldton had an urban population of 37,648. ...

. The foundation stone was laid on 25 April 1926. Deteriorating economic conditions associated with onset of the

necessitated the scaling back of the project. The original cathedral, less its

, was retained as the

of an expanded cathedral. Exposed metal bands were left protruding from the wall of the new

, in preparation for completion of the cathedral in future generations. The expansion work was undertaken by builders A T Brine and Sons, and it was built from stone from the same quarry as the

General Post Office The General Post Office (GPO) was the state postal system and telecommunications carrier of the United Kingdom until 1969. Before the Acts of Union 1707, it was the postal system of the Kingdom of England, established by Charles II in 1660. ...

building. The sanctuary mosaics were made to designs found in the

Book of Kells The Book of Kells ( la, Codex Cenannensis; ga, Leabhar Cheanannais; Dublin, Trinity College Library, MS A. I. 8 sometimes known as the Book of Columba) is an illuminated manuscript Gospel book in Latin, containing the four Gospels of the New ...

. The stained glass windows were designed and created in the United Kingdom by John Hardman of Birmingham. The marble altar from the original cathedral was relocated to the sanctuary of the expanded cathedral. The expanded, but incomplete, St Mary's Cathedral opened on 4 May 1930. In 1938 the cathedral's boys' choir was established, making it the oldest Catholic boys' choir in Australia today. In 1973, the central altar and lectern were added to the

and the redesigned sanctuary was consecrated on 12 August 1973. In 1995 the

Heritage Council of Western Australia The Heritage Council of Western Australia is the Government of Western Australia agency created to identify, conserve and promote places of cultural heritage significance in the state. Prior to its creation, considerable variance in policy and ...

noted that the original 1865 portion of the structure was suffering from falling damp and cracking in the walls, and the mosaic floors in the sanctuary were also cracked. Further deterioration of the cathedral by the end of the 20th century meant that decisions had to be made in relation to the repair and completion of the original design.

Third stage: 1999 to present

In mid-1999, after a bequest of $2 million by the estate of Jim and Alice Hassell, the Archdiocese announced that they intended to finally complete the 1920s expansion; however construction was not expected to commence until 2001. Also, it took longer than expected to source funds for the expansion, delaying commencement of the project. In the 2005–06 Federal budget, $3 million was set aside for the expansion, and a $2 million grant was received from the State government. The cathedral was eventually closed in August 2006 for the commencement of construction. At this stage, the building was suffering from rising damp, a crumbling bell tower and structural weaknesses. In 2006, after the closure of the cathedral for construction, the remains of Perth's first bishops were found beneath floorboards in the aisle, marked only by a small cross carved in the boards. As part of the restoration works, a permanent crypt for Perth's dead bishops was to be constructed underneath the altar. The remains of Perth's first bishop, John Brady, were exhumed in 2011 from his grave in France and a few months later he was laid to rest in the

crypt A crypt (from Latin ''crypta'' "vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, sarcophagi, or religious relics. Originally, crypts were typically found below the main apse of a chur ...

of St Mary's Cathedral. The expansion project was overseen by the Dean of the cathedral, Monsignor Thomas McDonald. Part of the restoration works involved hoisting the entire roof structure temporarily so that existing columns could be replaced and the walls reconfigured. The roof was then attached to a permanent steel structure. By March 2007, increasing construction costs and the need for extra repair work meant that the project costs had blown out by $5 million. The costs had further blown out to $32.9 million by March 2009. The new design includes increased seating for 1,600 people, a new underground parish centre and improved disabled access. It also adds a second spire to the church, which is not identical to the original spire because of a Heritage Council stipulation that the new spire not "shamelessly mimic" the existing one. The completed Cathedral was officially opened by the Archbishop of Perth, Barry Hickey on 8 December 2009, in a ceremony attended by the Apostolic Nuncio, Cardinal

George Pell George Pell (born 8 June 1941) is an Australian cardinal of the Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . I ...

, 33 bishops and 300 priests. The new design by Perth architect Peter M. Quinn won three architectural design awards from the Western Australian chapter of the

Australian Institute of Architects (United we advance architecture) , predecessor = , merged = , successor = , formation = , extinction = , status = Professional body; members association , headquarters = L1/41 Exhibition St, Melbourne , leader_title = CEO , leader_ ...

: The Jeffrey Howlett Award, the George Temple Pool ward, and the Margaret Pitt Morrison Award for Heritage.

Gallery

File:St Mary's Cathedral, Perth - c.1890-1894.jpg, Original cathedral, circa 1890-1894 File:StMarysCathedral 1910 crop.jpg, View along Murray Street to the cathedral, circa 1905 File:St Mary's Cathedral, Perth.jpg, The cathedral with the spire installed, circa 1910 File:St Mary's Cathedral, Perth - ANZAC Day service 1928.jpg, A service in the original cathedral in 1928 File:St Mary's Cathedral, Perth. Interior facing east.jpg, St Mary's Cathedral, Perth. Interior facing east in 2014 File:St Mary's Catherdral, Perth.JPG, View from Victoria Square, 2006 File:St Mary's Cathedral, Perth, west front.jpg, St Mary's Cathedral, Perth, west front in 2014 File:Interior of St Mary's.JPG, Interior of cathedral, taken from the now-demolished original portion of the cathedral File:St Mary's Cathedral, Perth. Interior of new section of the nave facing west.jpg, St Mary's Cathedral, Perth. Interior of new section of the nave facing west in 2014 File:St Mary's cathedral, Perth2.jpg, The exterior of the original portion of the cathedral, prior to the expansion work started in 2005 File:St Mary's Cathedral, Perth. Exterior of the new side from the north west.jpg, St Mary's Cathedral, Perth. Exterior of the new side from the north west in 2014 File:St Mary's cathedral, Perth3.jpg, Exterior of the cathedral's transept in 2006 showing the incomplete section at the right File:St Mary's Cathedral, Perth. View from the north showing old and new styles.jpg, St Mary's Cathedral, Perth. View from the north showing old and new styles in 2014 File:St Mary's Cathedral, Perth 2021.jpg, View from Royal Perth Hospital, 2021

Notes

External links

St Mary's CathedralCatholic Archdiocese of Perth
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Mary's Cathedral, Perth Roman Catholic churches in Perth, Western Australia Gothic Revival architecture in Perth, Western Australia Roman Catholic cathedrals in Western Australia Gothic Revival church buildings in Australia Victoria Square, Perth State Register of Heritage Places in the City of Perth