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1788
First fleet lands in Sydney cove. -
1791
First Irish convicts transported to Botany Bay. -
1803
First official public Mass is held under strict Government supervision and is celebrated by prisoner priest, Fr Dixon. -
1822
Fr Therry founds the first Catholic school on Hunter Street, Parramatta. -
1828
Australia’s first census is held and reveals a white population of 36,598 which includes both free settlers and convicts. Among these, 25,248 are Protestants and 11,236 Catholics. -
1833
Construction of St Mary’s Chapel finally completed. Fr Therry celebrates the first Mass there. -
1842
Sydney made a metropolitan and archiepiscopal see and Polding becomes Archbishop of Sydney and Metropolitan of Australia, Van Diemen’s Land, and the Gambier Islands. -
1851
St Mary’s Cathedral is modified to the designs of renowned British architect, Augustus Pugin. The Archdiocese now has 33 parishes, 30 churches and 35 priests who minister to 55,000 Catholics, most of whom are either Irish born or of Irish descent. -
1865
Fire destroys St Mary’s Cathedral. Although much of the edifice is stone, the flames raze the building to the ground. -
1866
A temporary St Mary’s Cathedral begins construction until a brand new cathedral can be built. -
1869
The temporary structure that serves as St Mary’s Cathedral burns down but construction on the third, and the permanent St Mary’s construction is now well underway. -
1882
St Mary’s Cathedral is dedicated at a special Mass celebrated by Archbishop Vaughan. Its bells are heard for the first time but the building itself is far from complete and only the northern section is opened. -
1900
The central tower of St Mary’s Cathedral is finally finished and a dedication follows. -
1911
The Archdiocese now has 189 churches, eight hospitals and three seminaries. Of Sydney’s 175,000 Catholics, more than 25,000 children are enrolled at Archdiocese schools. -
1914
World War I declared. Catholics became influential in the Australian Labor Party with the rise of figures such as Ben Chiffley and James Scullin. -
2000
The two spires of St Mary’s Cathedral are finally completed. -
2009
Restoration and renovation begins on the former Marist Fathers students’ home in Rome for what will become a pilgrim’s haven for Australians in the city offering accommodation and a home away from home. -
2014
The Holy Father Pope Francis appoints George Cardinal Pell as Prefect of the new Secretariat for the Economy. The Most Rev Anthony Fisher is appointed as the ninth Archbishop of Sydney.