St Patrick's Cathedral, Parramatta is the cathedral church of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Parramatta The Roman Catholic Diocese of Parramatta is a suffragan diocese, suffragan Latin Church diocese of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney, Archdiocese of Sydney, established in 1986. The Diocese of Parramatta is an organisation of the Roman C ...

and the seat and residence of the

Catholic Bishop In the Catholic Church, a bishop is an Holy Orders, ordained Minister (Catholic Church), minister who holds the fullness of the Sacraments of the Catholic Church, sacrament of Holy orders in the Catholic Church, holy orders and is responsible ...

Parramatta Parramatta () is a suburb and major Central business district, commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney, located in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district on the ban ...

, New South Wales, Australia, currently

the Most Reverend The Most Reverend is a style applied to certain religious figures, primarily within the historic denominations of Christianity, but occasionally in some more modern traditions also. It is a variant of the more common style "The Reverend". Angli ...

Vincent Long Van Nguyen Vincent Nguyễn Văn Long O.F.M. Conv. (born 3 December 1961) is a Vietnamese Australian prelate of the Catholic Church. He was appointed the fourth Bishop of Parramatta, Australia, by Pope Francis on 5 May 2016. He has been a bishop since 201 ...

OFM Conv.

History

With origins of the first Mass occurring on the present day site of the cathedral going back to 1803, St Patrick's was extensively rebuilt after a 1996 fire devastated the original church established in 1854. A tower was built on the original St Patrick's Church which was consecrated in 1880 and blessed in 1883. A cast bronze bell was installed in the tower in 1904. As the needs of the parish grew, a new church was built on the site in 1936 incorporating the existing tower and spire (pictured above). When the Diocese of Parramatta was established in 1986, St Patrick's Church was designated as St Patrick's Cathedral.

Building design and works

Under Bishop Kevin Manning and dean Peter G. Williams, the building was designed by

Romaldo Giurgola Romaldo "Aldo" Giurgola AO (2 September 1920 – 16 May 2016) was an Italian academic, architect, professor, and author. Giurgola was born in Rome, Italy in 1920. After service in the Italian armed forces during World War II, he was educated ...

and the firm MGT Architects. Giurgola was commissioned in 1997 for the restoration and design of a new cathedral complex after a fire destroyed the previous building. Giurgola was the architect of the new Australian Parliament House in Canberra. A program of major art works, craft and special design for the cathedral was also undertaken at the same time so that the art, architecture and furnishings of the new cathedral would be in harmony. The commissioned artists included Sydney sculptor Anne Ferguson (who worked in stone), Tasmanian designer Kevin Perkins (who worked in timber) and Sydney sculptor and jewellery designer

Robin Blau Robin Blau (born 1946) is an Australian artist based in Sydney. Blau graduated in sculpture and jewellery from Sydney College of the Arts The Sydney College of the Arts (SCA) is a contemporary art school that was a faculty of the University ...

(who worked in metal). The new Parramatta Cathedral was consecrated on 29 November 2003 by Cardinal Edward Idris Clancy. The Norman and Beard late-Victorian English romantic pipe organ, built in 1898, was installed in 2006. This 19th-century organ was transferred from St Saviour's Anglican Church in Knightsbridge, London. Stephen Bicknell designed a new organ case in collaboration with Romaldo Giurgola and the instrument was restored and installed in Parramatta Cathedral by Peter Jewkes and Associates. The organ specifications were further enhanced in 2014 with the addition of several digital ranks of pedal pipes, including 32' Contra-Bourdon, 32' Contra-ophicleide, 16' Major bass; and additional switching devices for the transfer of swell reeds to pedal. The building design and construction team were awarded the 2003 Sir

Zelman Cowen Sir Zelman Cowen, (7 October 1919 – 8 December 2011) was an Australian legal scholar and university administrator who served as the 19th Governor-General of Australia, in office from 1977 to 1982. Cowen was born in Melbourne, and attended ...

Award for Public Buildings by the Australian Institute of Architects.

References

External links

Diocese of Parramatta website

History

Building design and works

References

External links

See also