St Francis Xavier Catholic Cathedral
Wollongong, NSW 2500
Church Information
| Church Name: | St Francis Xavier Catholic Cathedral |
| Church Previous Name: | - |
| Denomination: | Catholic Church in Australia |
| Street Address: | 36 Harbour St, Wollongong NSW 2500, Australia |
| Suburb: | Wollongong |
| State: | NSW |
| Postcode: | 2500 |
| Foundation Stone Laid: | unknown |
| Foundation Stone Notes: | A tablet records: This stone was solmenly - blessed by His Eminence - Cardinal Moran - Archbishop of Sydney - May 6th 1906. A tablet records: A M D G - Additions to this church - were blessed - by - The Most Rev Michael Kelly - Archbishop of Sydney - on - Sunday 12th Feby. 1933. A plaque records: This Grotto was erected - to commemorate the - Wollongong Marian Congress - June 1981 - William E Murray - Bishop of Wollongong. A tablet records: This Cathedral of St Francis Xavier - was solemnly dedicated - by The Most Reverend Peter Ingham - Bishop of Wollongong - on 16th March 2010 - on the anniversary of the death of Archbishop John Bede Polding OSB - The first Bishop of Australia. A plaque records: Honouring Our Journey 1838 ~ 2011 - Our school patron, Saint Francis Xavier, holds the Cross that - leads us on our journey to God. The motto "In this sign we - conquer" points to the Cross of Jesus. The land and water in the - background represent our journey in the Illawarra. Like Saint - Francis Xavier, we go forward with the courage and confidence - of Christ. The students remind us of the collaboration between - family, school and parish in the holistic development of children. - Commissioned By : Lumen Christi Pastoral Region ~ Fr Ron Peters Administrator ~ Blessed by: Most Reverend Peter W Ingham DD ~ Bishop of Wollongong - Artists: Paola Birac & Amanda Kelly ~ 2.12.2011 - Donated by the 2011 St Francis Xavier Parents and Friends Association. A plaque records: John Bede Polding, Bishop and Vicar-Apostolic of - New Holland, laid and blessed the original foundation - stone of this church, dedicated to Almighty God, in - the Pontificate of Gregory XVI.- This plaque commemorates that day and was blessed - by Peter Ingham, Fourth Bishop of Wollongong, on 24 November 2013 in the Pontificate of Francis. - Peter W Ingham ~ Bishop of Wollongong - Ron D Peters ~ Dean of the Cathedral - In the year commemorating the 175th anniversary of - the arrival of Rev Father John Rigney in the Illawarra. |
| Date Opened: | unknown |
| Date Closed: | unknown |
| Email: | admin@churchesaustralia.org |
Comments
The St Francis Xavier Catholic Cathedral, Wollongong. This was the first Catholic place of worship in the Illawarra. The existing church was begun in 1848. In 1951 the church was raised to cathedral status when Wollongong was declared a diocese by Pope Pius XII. (For more historical information see https://www.lumenchristi.org.au/item/23-st-francis-xavier-cathedral-wollongong).
The Malayalam Community and the Dutch Community celebrate Mass monthly in the cathedral. The Polish community celebrate weekly Mass in the Saint Mary’s Chapel.
More historical information/photographs of the cathedral/congregation are invited. Photographs uploaded 23/4/2019
Note: Photograph attribution/source - By JohnArmagh - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=23413736
