The Church was initially uncomfortable with its adherents’ drinking chocolate because the drink had been used as part of Aztec religious rituals. The Aztecs regarded chocolate as gift of the gods and associated it with the human heart. By The Record.

The Archdiocese of Perth has released a book titled St Mary’s Cathedral ‘A History in Photographs’ in celebration of their rich history and culture since 1865.

Three influential Catholic leaders spent an evening speaking about the influence of faith and church on their lives. The history symposium themed ‘Personal Histories’ was held on Wednesday, 22 October at the UNDA Fremantle campus.

This is the final article by Peter Wilkinson in the series looking at the various particular councils (provincial and plenary) convened by the hierarchy of the Catholic Church in Australia between 1844 and 1937. It examines the First Provincial Council of Melbourne held in Melbourne from 17-24 November 1907.

The vast rusty bulk of the old water tower at St Charles’ Seminary, with its heavy timber beams and flaking steel, seems more like something found in an English, Victorian era industrial town rather than the green, overgrown banks of the Swan.

This year, on 9 May, marked 175 years since Perth became a diocese. The anniversary was not formally celebrated because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB and his curia wished to recognise this significant event. Odhran O’Brien, Director of the Archdiocesan Archives Office, has compiled a short reflection on the diocese’s foundation, which includes extracts from the missionaries who arrived in Western Australia during 1845.

The mid-19th century efforts to educate two aboriginal boys in Italy, who could become missionaries to their own people, started with the best intentions but finished badly.

Over the last few months the world, has grappled to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. During this time, many parallels have been drawn between this current crisis and the outbreak of the Spanish Flu following the end of the First World War in 1918.

Close to 1000 photographs taken in the Kimberley up to 70 years ago have emerged from deep in a Broome archive, with work now well underway to identify them thanks to the COVID-19 lockdown.

In an historic moment, the remains of Perth’s first Catholic Bishop, John Brady, will be laid to rest in St Mary’s Cathedral Crypt on 2 August.