After three attempts across three different centuries, 1100 people celebrated the completion of St Mary’s Cathedral last Tuesday evening. But the moment was not just historic. In a country that so often says God is dead, Perth Catholics showed there really is a viable alternative. God is back.
By Anthony Barich
National Reporter
After 166 years in the making, the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary was opened and re-dedicated in a blaze of glory on December 8, with Archbishop Barry Hickey concelebrating with 24 Bishops and approximately 191 priests from around Australia and two from Spain.
With Sydney Cardinal George Pell, Papal Nuncio to Australia Archbishop Giuseppe Lazzarotto and Melkite Greek-Catholic Eparch Archbishop Issam John Darwish, among others, it was a unifying event for the Church in Australia.
“My hope is that this place of worship, with its delightful spire and gleaming in the bright Perth sun, will proclaim to all who pass by the beauty and love of God, and be a beacon that reflects the light of Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour and the role of the sinless Mary Immaculate in offering her Son, Jesus to the world as its Saviour,” Archbishop Hickey said in his homily.
He said that the Aboriginal Pathway near the entrance to the Cathedral deserves “special attention”.
Drawn by local Nyoongar woman Laurel Nannup, it describes in 16 panels the life of the Aboriginal people at the time of the first Cathedral, and the coming of Christianity. He said that the Cathedral itself is a history lesson about the Church in Western Australia, and a lesson in Christian theology with the stained glass windows and liturgical and sacramental elements like the altar, baptisimal font and lecturn, which has on its stem the symbols of the four Evangelists Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
Cardinal Pell told The Record after the Mass that the depth of the faith of the WA people is “wonderfully reflected in the architecture of the building – a mixture of the old and new, and a wonderful example of what Pope Benedict would call ‘the hermeneutic of continuity’, development and progress, (while) hanging on to the past”.
A clearly happy Archbishop Hickey welcomed an estimated 1100 people to the Cathedral on Tuesday evening for the fulfillment of the dream of thousands of Catholics since the establishment of the Diocese of Perth in the Swan River Colony in 1845.
December 8 is the feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and both the Cathedral and the Archdiocese are dedicated to Mary under that title.
The pro-Cathedral in Victoria Avenue was originally called the church of St John the Evangelist as construction started on his feast day – December 27, 1843 – the day the first sod was turned.
Bishop Jose Maria Benito Serra, co-adjutor and administrator of Perth, was in Rome when Pope Pius IX declared the dogma of the Immaculate Conception in 1854 (see Page 16).
He returned to Perth and changed the name of the pro-Cathedral to the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary on June 17, 1855.
When the new Cathedral was built the name was transferred when it was opened in 1865.
The completion of the Cathedral has overcome numerous hurdles since then, including the current global recession, eerily redolent of the Great Depression in 1930 that stopped Archbishop Clune’s plans in its tracks and forced an early opening of an incomplete Cathedral designed by MF Cavanagh.
Heritage Council of WA rules also prohibit a new building from using the original design on the same site.
At the opening of the new building in 1930, Archbishop Clune had said, “It is with a saddened heart that we must leave the dream of completing St Mary’s Cathedral to a future generation.”
When appealing to the WA public for the final $7.5 million for the Cathedral, Archbishop Hickey quipped: “The difference between us and Archbishop Clune is that we cannot stop.”
Western Australia’s economic boom triggered by the mining sector also took its toll, as the project blew out by $7.5 million, and plans were still being finalised during construction.
When the project was started at the height of the building boom, the Archdiocese approached four steel companies; three of them wouldn’t touch the project as they had so much work already.
Cathedral planners got an initial quote, but then costs trebled.
The cost of concrete had risen by 70 per cent, adding $1.8 million to the cost, and steel had almost doubled in price, adding another million.
The roof of the Cavanagh section was to have been repaired and renovated, but had to be replaced for an additional $1 million. Other impacts of the boom added $2 million to the builder’s costs.
In a real sense, the project has unified the Archdiocese as never before. Parishes and schools have formed closer bonds by holding fundraising events; ethnic groups, cultural groups, colleges, families, individuals and religious organisations have banded together to fundraise the $32.9 million required to finish the project.
Donations ranged from $2 to $1 million.
The Federal and WA State Governments also contributed $4 million and $3 million, respectively.
WA Premier Colin Barnett and Foreign Minister Stephen Smith were present at the opening to represent their respective State and Federal Governments along with a number of past and present Federal and State MPs.
Up to 550 workers spent 200,000 hours bringing local architect Peter Quinn’s design to fruition over three years after the Cathedral closed in August 2006 for “conservation and restoration” work.
The design retains the original 1865 front end and the 1930 back third, with a new middle section joining them up, along with a new tower and spire; plus a crypt to hold Perth’s past Bishops and future Archbishops for up to 500 years to come. Seating was increased from 700 to 1,050, with an extra 500 available in the overflow courtyard, with the unorthodox but increasingly popular design of arranging the pews around an unusual octagonal altar and sanctuary.
The panels behind the new Blessed Sacrament Chapel change colours according to the liturgical season.
The tabernacle in the new Cathedral was used in the 1865 and 1930 Cathedral and has been in storage since 1973. Now it has been fully restored and placed in a central position where the 1930 Cathedral sanctuary was.