Catholics in Australia

  • Catholics arrive in Australia

    Catholics arrive in Australia
    In 1788, the first catholics arrived in Australia. There were 300 Catholic Irish Convicts who arrived with the First Fleet in Australia.
  • First Mass

    First Mass
    Father James Dixon led the first mass in Australia on the 15th of May, 1803. This was important as it started to stem all of the masses in Australia at this time, as everyone wanted to celebrate mass.
  • Father Dixon returned to Ireland

    Father Dixon returned to Ireland
    In 1808, Father Dixon returned to Ireland after his time in Australia. He decide that being a priest in Australia was over, and he went back home to Ireland.
  • New Priest

    New Priest
    Father Jeremiah O'Flynn became the new priest after 9 years of the colony having no priest. This was important as it reignited the Catholic lifestyle in the colony.
  • First Official Priests arrive

    First Official Priests arrive
    In 1819, the first official priests for Australia's catholic church arrived in Sydney. Their names were Fr John Therry, and Fr Phillip Conolly.
  • Catholic Church came to be

    Catholic Church came to be
    The Catholic Church came to be recognised and it was finally established in Australia. After many, many years of not being accepted, it finally became accepted in the colony.
  • First Catholic School is opened

    First Catholic School is opened
    In 1822, Father Therry opened the first Catholic School in a town in Sydney called Parramatta. This was important as many schools were opened after this school was.
  • A new head Priest arrives for the Colony

    A new head Priest arrives for the Colony
    In 1826, a new priest arrived to lead the way for Catholics in the colony, his name was Fr Daniel Power.
  • Father Conolly died

    Father Conolly died
    One of the first priests who arrived in Australia was Father Phillip Conolly. He soon after died, after all of his service as the first priest.
  • Churches and Schools

    Churches and Schools
    By 1864, there were 20 catholic churches and nineteen catholic schools.
  • First Bishop

    First Bishop
    In 1884, the first Irish Bishop arrived in Australia to lead the way for the catholics. He was later a cardinal, going by the name of Patrick Francis Moran.
  • St Vincent de Paul

    St Vincent de Paul
    The archbishop helped establish the St Vincent de Paul society in Australia and supported the workers. Now today, we see the Vinnies organisation helping many different people.
  • Archbishop Mannix arrived in Melbourne

    Archbishop Mannix arrived in Melbourne
    In 1913, the Archbishop arrived in Melbourne. His name was Archbishop Mannix, and he started leading the Catholic religion in Australia.
  • A catholic radio broadcasting station started

    A catholic radio broadcasting station started
    The first catholic radio station was born, and they spoke all about what Jesus taught. It was like a mass on radio.
  • No longer outsiders

    No longer outsiders
    This was the year that Australian Catholics had established their place in Australian society, they were no longer outsiders.
  • Catholics Grow

    Catholics Grow
    The proportion of Catholics in Australia grew to a massive 20.7%.
  • Pope John Paul II talks to Aboriginals

    Pope John Paul II talks to Aboriginals
    Pope John Paul II travelled to Alice Springs to speak to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
  • Native Title Act

    Native Title Act
    Possibly the most significant event towards reclaiming the identity Aboriginal people lost in the colonisation.
  • Amount of Australian's that attend Church

    Amount of Australian's that attend Church
    In 2016 around 15% of Australian's catholic believers attend church on a Sunday.
  • Catholic Students in Victoria

    Catholic Students in Victoria
    In 2016 there are 146,000 Catholic Students in Victoria.