St Francis' Catholic Church
Melbourne, VIC 3000
Church Information
| Church Name: | St Francis' Catholic Church |
| Church Previous Name: | - |
| Denomination: | Catholic Church in Australia |
| Street Address: | Lonsdale St & Elizabeth St, Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia |
| Suburb: | Melbourne |
| State: | VIC |
| Postcode: | 3000 |
| Foundation Stone Laid: | 04-10-1841 |
| Foundation Stone Notes: | Foundation stone laid by Fr Patrick Geoghegan on 4/10/1841. The text on the foundation stone is not known. Information/photographs are invited. |
| Date Opened: | 23-10-1845 |
| Date Closed: | unknown |
| Email: | admin@churchesaustralia.org |
Comments
The St Francis Catholic Church, Melbourne is in the Parish of Melbourne and the Archdiocese of Melbourne. It was built between 1841 and 1845, and is the oldest Catholic church in Victoria. A small timber chapel (1839) was located on the site while the present church was being built. The first Mass was celebrated on 22/5/1842 and the church formally opened on 23/10/1845.
St Francis' became Melbourne's first Catholic Cathedral with the arrival of Bishop James Alipius Goold in 1848. Its Cathedral status ended when the nave of the partially built St Patrick's Cathedral was opened for worship in the late 1860's.
St Mary of the Cross MacKillop (1842-1909) made her first communion in St Francis' in 1850, the same year that bushranger Ned Kelly's parents were married in the church. (Information taken from the church website - http://www.stfrancismelbourne.com/early-history/ )
More historical information/photographs of the church/congregation are invited. Photographs uploaded 24/4/2021.
Note: Photograph attribution/source - By Albertus Aditya - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=87158495
