Catholic Life In Australia

By laylaosull26

  • First Fleet land in Sydney Cove

  • La Perouse enters Botany Bay

    La Perouse enters Botany Bay and his chaplain, Abbe Mones, celebrates the first Mass within Australian territory

  • Catholic settlers in Parramatta petition Governor Phillip for a chaplin

  • Fr James Dixon and two other priests arrested

    Fr James Dixon and two other priests arrested as part of the 1798 Irish Rebellion are transported to New South Wales as convicts

  • First official public Mass is held

    First official public Mass is held under strict Government supervision and is celebrated by prisoner priest, Fr Dixon

  • Fr Jeremiah Flynn arrives to minister to convict Catholics

    Fr Jeremiah Flynn arrives to minister to convict Catholics but he does not have the official sanction of the church or state. The following year after ignoring Governor Macquarie’s instructions not to carry out any of the functions of a priest, he is arrested and deported despite protests from the colony’s Catholics and several Protestant leaders

  • Fr John Therry and Fr Philip Conolly, Australia’s first official priests, arrive in Sydney

    Fr John Therry and Fr Philip Conolly, Australia’s first official priests, arrive in Sydney. Fr Therry opens the first Catholic school in Parramatta and lobbies Governor Macquarie for land on which to build the settlement’s first Catholic church. Father Conolly leaves for Hobart leaving Fr John Therry the only priest on mainland Australia

  • The foundation stone of St Mary’s Chapel is laid by Governor Macquarie and blessed by Fr Therry.

    The foundation stone of St Mary’s Chapel is laid by Governor Macquarie and blessed by Fr Therry. The site is near a barren brickfield and Sydney’s convict barracks on land considered undesirable and without value. Father Connolly builds the first Catholic church in Tasmania

  • Fr Therry founds the first Catholic school on Hunter Street, Parramatta

  • Fr Daniel Power lands in Sydney to replace Fr Therry

    Fr Daniel Power lands in Sydney to replace Fr Therry as official chaplain to the growing colony. Hardworking Fr Therry moves to Parramatta and remains a chief influence among Sydney’s Catholics

  • Australia’s first census is held

    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

  • Penal laws preventing Catholics holding Government positions ends

  • Fr Power dies

  • Fr John McEncroe appointed official chaplain to the Catholics of Australia

    Fr John McEncroe appointed official chaplain to the Catholics of Australia. In a letter to Dublin’s Archbishop James Murray that “There are 16,000 or 18,000 Catholics in this colony, not one half of whom hardly ever see a Priest”

  • St Mary’s Chapel finally completed.

    St Mary’s Chapel finally completed. Fr Therry celebrates the first Mass there. Fr William Ullalthorne arrives in Sydney to take over as the colony’s first Vicar General

  • Benedictine priest, John Bede Polding is consecrated (ordained as Bishop)

    Benedictine priest, John Bede Polding is consecrated (ordained as Bishop) in London and appointed Vicar Apostolic with jurisdiction over what is now the Commonwealth of Australia.

  • Bishop Polding takes control of school

    Bishop Polding takes control of schools and by1836 has 13 primary schools in operation. Seven are for boys, six for girls and all have government support. He lays the foundation stone for a church at Parramatta

  • Five Sisters of Charity arrive in Sydney

    Five Sisters of Charity arrive in Sydney with a mission to help the poor and disadvantaged in response to a request from Archbishop Polding for a community of sisters in the colony. English-born philanthropist Caroline Chisholm also arrives in Sydney as does a large contingent of secular Irish clergy including Fr John Brady who is appointed to Windsor with a parish that extends from Penrith to the Hawkesbury and Broken Bay.

  • Sydney made a metropolitan and archiepiscopal see and Polding becomes Archbishop of Sydney

    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. Adelaide and Hobart are separated from the original vicariate and made episcopal sees. Transportation of convicts to NSW officially ends

  • Polding launches the first Catholic Mission to Aborigines on Stradbroke Island.

    Polding launches the first Catholic Mission to Aborigines on Stradbroke Island. Queensland. Queensland is part of the Archdiocese which encompasses an area now covered by NSW, Victoria and Queensland.

  • Archbishop Polding consecrates Fr Francis Murphy

    Archbishop Polding consecrates Fr Francis Murphy as Bishop of Adelaide in the first episcopal conscration to take place in Australia.

  • Fr John Brady consecrated

    Fr John Brady consecrated as Bishop of Perth and moves from Windsor to Western Australia

  • St Mary’s Cathedral is modified

    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. In addition according to a report sent to Rome, the Archdiocese has about 50 monks, nuns and religious students

  • The Sisters of Charity establish St Vincent’s Hospital

    The Sisters of Charity establish St Vincent’s Hospital in the centre of Sydney and offer its services free to all people, but especially to the poor

  • Fr James Quinn is consecrated

    Fr James Quinn is consecrated in Ireland and sails for Australia to become the first Bishop of Brisbane

  • Fire destroys St Mary’s Cathedral

    Fire destroys St Mary’s Cathedral. Although much of the edifice is stone, the flames raze the building to the ground. Archdeacon McEncroe begins fundraising efforts for a new cathedral designed by William Wardell, the architect responsible for St John’s College at the University of Sydney and St Patrick’s Cathedral in Melbourne.

  • Mary MacKillop and Fr Julian Tenison Woods found the Sisters of St. Joseph

    Mary MacKillop and Fr Julian Tenison Woods found the Sisters of St. Joseph. Daniel Murphy appointed second Archbishop of Hobart A temporary St Mary’s Cathedral begins construction until a brandnew cathedral can be built

  • Mary MacKillop becomes the first Sister and Mother Superior of the Sisters of St Joseph

  • Archbishop Polding lays the foundation stone for a new St Mary’s Cathedral.

  • Mother Mary MacKillop excommunicated

    Mother Mary MacKillop excommunicated by Laurence Sheil, Bishop of Adelaide who alleges she incites her sisters to disobedience and defiance.

  • An Episcopal Commission exonerates Mother Mary MacKillop

    An Episcopal Commission exonerates Mother Mary MacKillop. She is recommunicated into the church and the Sisters of Joseph permitted to continue their work. Colonial governments end state-aid to church schools. The Marist Brothers open St Patrick’s Primary School on Harrington Street in the Rocks, Sydney

  • Archbishop Polding dies

    Archbishop Polding dies at Sacred Heart Presbytery in Sydney aged 85. Roger Bede Vaughan becomes Archbishop of Sydney

  • NSW Catholic Bishops issue a Joint Pastoral Letter

    NSW Catholic Bishops issue a Joint Pastoral Letter stating that Catholics must send their children to Catholic schools unless given special dispensation by their parish priest

  • Archbishop Vaughan buys the Catholic Times

    Archbishop Vaughan buys the Catholic Times. He also raises £30,000 for the rebuilding of St Mary’s Cathedral by writing 3000 personal letters over a period of two years. St Ignatius College, Riverview is established by the Jesuits Brothers who arrived in the Colony two years before.

  • First St Vincent de Paul Society established

    First St Vincent de Paul Society established in Sydney. Marist Brothers found St Joseph’s College, a boarding school for boys, at Hunter’s Hill

  • St Mary’s Cathedral is dedicated at a special Mass

    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. It will be many more years until the nave is finished and more than a century before the spires from the original design are finally erected

  • Archbishop Vaughan dies during a trip to England

    Archbishop Vaughan dies during a trip to England. A scholar and education advocate one of his legacies is the upsurge in teaching orders and schools. Of the 15,200 Catholic children in Sydney, more than 12,500 now attend Archdiocese schools

  • Francis Patrick Moran, consecrated as Bishop

    Francis Patrick Moran, consecrated as Bishop of Olba In Partibus by Dublin’s Cardinal Cullen is promoted to Archbishop of Sydney and arrives in Australia to take over the Archdiocese.

  • The Archbishop’s Official Residence at Manly is completed

  • Cardinal Moran convenes the first Australasian Catholic Congress

    Cardinal Moran convenes the first Australasian Catholic Congress at St Mary’s Cathedral on September 10. The central tower of St Mary’s Cathedral is finally finished and a dedication follows

  • Australian Catechism inaugurated

  • Death of Mother Mary MacKillop

  • Cardinal Moran dies

    Cardinal Moran dies and is succeeded by Archbishop Kelly. 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.

  • World War I declared

    World War I declared. Catholics become influential in the Australian Labor Party with the rise of figures such as Ben Chiffley and James Scullin. St Patrick’s College seminary at Manly celebrates its Silver Jubilee. An Act of Parliament permits the subdivision of 21 acres of land above Shelly Beach and Fairy Bower to help meet the cost of the college’s upkeep

  • The Formation of the Manly Union

    The Formation of the Manly Union, an association of priests from St Patrick’s College seminary who demand the ‘Australianisation’ of the Australian Church. Ex St Patrick’s student, Matthew Brodie is made Bishop of Christchurch

  • Founding of the Knights of the Southern Cross

    Founding of the Knights of the Southern Cross. Committed to promoting a Christian way of life, the Late Mother Mary MacKillop is appointed patron of the order which is open to Catholic men over the age of 18

  • Founding of the Knights of the Southern Cross

  • The International Eucharistic Congress

    The International Eucharistic Congress is held in Sydney under Archbishop Kelly with Cardinal Ceretti appointed the delegate for Pope Pius XI. The nave of St Mary’s Cathedral is finished and bar its spires, the Cathedral is now virtually complete

  • James Scullin becomes Australia’s first Catholic prime minister

  • Rules of St Patrick’s published

    Rules of St Patrick’s published. This meeting formed the St. Patrick’s Society “for the encouragement of national feeling, for the relief of the destitute, the promotion of education, whatever may be considered by the members best calculated to promote the happiness, honor and prosperity of their native and adopted land”

  • Sydney-born Norman Thomas Gilroy, former Bishop of Port Augusta

    Sydney-born Norman Thomas Gilroy, former Bishop of Port Augusta and a veteran of the Gallipoli campaign during World War I is created Archbishop in partibus and successor to Archbishop Kelly and the Sydney Archdiocese

  • Archbishop Michael Kelly dies

    Archbishop Michael Kelly dies. Archbishop Gilroy becomes Archbishop of Sydney

  • Catholic Weekly prints its first issue

  • Archbishop Gilroy is created Cardina

    Archbishop Gilroy is created Cardinal and becomes the first Australian-born member of the Sacred College

  • Post World War II with the upsurge in births

    Post World War II with the upsurge in births, Catholic schools are under pressure and overwhelmed by demand

  • Sydney born, James Darcy Freeman is elected bishop in partibus to Sydney.

  • Catholic Overseas Relief Committee

    Catholic Overseas Relief Committee, now known as Caritas, is established to respond to poverty, hunger and disasters and sponsoring longterm education, development and self reliance among people in need

  • Death of Pope John XXIII

    Death of Pope John XXIII who is succeeded by Pope Paul VI. The Second Vatican Council commences and appoints Cardinal Gilroy to the Council of Presidency. The Mass changes from Latin to English

  • Cardinal Gilroy is receives a KBE

    Cardinal Gilroy is receives a KBE, a knighthood of the British Empire for his services to Sydney and the community Bishop Freeman becomes Bishop of Armidale

  • Pope Paul VI makes the first-ever Papal visit to Australia

  • The Archdiocese of Sydney now has 366 Catholic schools

    The Archdiocese of Sydney now has 366 Catholic schools with 115,704 pupils. Cardinal Gilroy dies and is succeeded by Archbishop James Darcy Freeman

  • Archbishop Freeman becomes Cardinal Freeman

    Archbishop Freeman becomes Cardinal Freeman. With his wide popularity and work for the poor or downtrodden, the press dub him The People’s Cardinal. The public know him better simply as Cardinal Jimmy

  • Rome declares that Australia is no longer a mission country

  • Cardinal Freeman dies

    Cardinal Freeman dies. Thousands of Catholics and non Catholics mourn his passing. Archbishop Edward Bede Clancy, formerly Archbishop of Goulburn and Canberra becomes Archbishop of Sydney

  • Pope John Paul II visits Australia

  • Foundation of Notre Dame University and the Australian Catholic University

  • Pope John Paul II makes his second visit to Australia

    Pope John Paul II makes his second visit to Australia. Mother Masry of the Cross, Mary MacKillop os beatified. St Patrick’s College seminary at Manly closes and a new modern seminary, the Seminary of the Good Shepherd is built at Homebush to replace it

  • Restoration of the St Mary’s Cathedral begins

  • A new pipe organ is built

    A new pipe organ is built by Orgues Letourneau of Montreal, Quebec

  • St Mary’s Cathedral is the location for the celebration

    St Mary’s Cathedral is the location for the celebration of the Ninth World Day of the Sick. Cardinal retires and Archbishop George Pell, formerly the Archbishop of Melbourne, becomes the eight Archbishop of the Sydney Archdiocese

  • Death of much loved, Pope John Paul II

    Death of much loved, Pope John Paul II. Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger is elected Pope Benedict XVI

  • Pope Benedict XVI makes his first visit to Australia

    Pope Benedict XVI makes his first visit to Australia when the Archdiocese of Sydney hosts World Youth Day 2008. WYD08 is a huge success and as a result the social networking website, Xt3 is created for young people not onl;y in Sydney but worldwide. It quickly becomes the fastest growing Catholic website worldwide.

  • Restoration and renovation begins on the former Marist Fathers students’ home

    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

  • The Holy Father Pope Francis appoints George Cardinal Pell as Prefect of the new Secretariat for the Economy

    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.