About St. Mary's Cathedral :

St Mary's Cathedral is the largest Roman Catholic church in Australia. This is one of the more notable and historic Sydney churches, a Sydney landmark. It is the mother church of Australian Catholicism. As well as being the mother church of Australian Catholicism, St Mary's Cathedral is the cathedral church of the Sydney Catholic archdiocese whose head is the Sydney archbishop.

History :

It is the seat of Australia's only Cardinal, George Pell, and holds the title and dignity of a Minor Basilica, which were bestowed upon it by Pope Pius XI in 1930.The present St Mary's is the second church of that name to occupy the site abutting College Street, Sydney. The foundation stone for the first building was laid by New South Wales Governor Lachlan Macquarie and blessed by the colony's Catholic chaplain, Father Therry, on 3 May, 1821. The building was built of stone in a naive Gothic style, modified in 1851 in line with designs by A W N Pugin, and was destroyed by fire on 29 June, 1865.The foundation stone for a new building, designed in Gothic-revival style by William Wilkinson Wardell was laid by Archbishop Polding in 1868. St Mary's was declared complete in 1928, and Archbishop Michael Kelly opened the building on 2 September of that year.

Due to a lack of funds the spires designed by Wardell for the cathedral's two main towers were not constructed until 2000 - 132 years after work first began on the building. With the completion of the spires St Mary's became the tallest church in Australia

Location :

St Mary's Cathedral lies in an area bounded by Hyde Park and the underground St James station in the west, government buildings in the north, The Domain in the northeast and east, and Cathedral Rd and Phillip Park in the south.

In the heart of the city Hyde Park, cut into two sections by Park St which leads east to Kings Cross, is almost certainly the very heart of the city of Sydney.

Construction :

St Mary's Cathedral is built of dressed Pyrmont stone and is geometrical decorated Gothic in architectural style. The design is cruciform with a central tower at the intersection of the nave and transepts. It is 350 feet (106.7 metres) in overall outside length with a general width of 80 feet (24.4 metres).

The two towers in the cathedral's facade contain niches, stone louvres, squint holes and windows, but had remained without spires since the church's construction. In May 1999, tubular steel frames were flown by helicopter to the tower tops, forming steel spires to be fully clad in stone. The work was completed on June 25, 2000.

Enquiries(E-mail): cathedral@sydney.anglican.asn.au

Telephone Enquiries : 02-9265 1663

About St. Andrew's Cathedral :

St Andrew's Cathedral is the oldest Cathedral in Australia, designed by Edmund Blacket in the late Gothic style. It was founded in 1819 and completed in 1868. Also has a rich choral music tradition, and a number of interesting historical features. The cathedral was extended with the addition of The Chapter House in 1886. It underwent major conservation and restoration work between 1999 and 2000.

Items of interest :

Items of interest in the Church are the Foundation Plaques, the organ which was originally built in 1866, the lectern (the eagle is a symbol of St John), the font, a gift received in 1868, the tiles and marble floors, mostly still the original and laid between 1862 to 1868.

Location :

The Cathedral is located in Sydney Square, George Street. It is next door to the Town Hall. Closest rail station - Town Hall.

Guided Tours :

Monday To Friday : 11.00am & 1.45pm, Sunday : 12.00pm

Service Times :

Sunday : 8.30am, 10.30am & 6.30pm (Choir at 10.30am & 6.30pm),

Monday To Friday : 8.00am - Morning Prayer and Holy Communion

Friday : 12.15pm - Holy Communion

Tuesday & Wednesday: 3.40pm - Evensong (during School Terms)

Thursday : 5.15pm - Evensong (during School Terms)

Thursday : 1.15pm - Free Organ Recital

Wednesday : 1.15pm - Bible Study

Wednesday : 6.00pm - Healing Service

Available for :

The Cathedral and Chapter House are available for concerts, conferences and other events. Entity Facility Car park.