St. Patrick's Cathedral is the cathedral of the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne , Australia , a typical example of the neo-Gothic style popular in the British Empire . One of the five Australian temples bearing the honorary status of the "Small Basilica."
History
In 1851, 12 years after the founding of Melbourne , the colony secretary Victoria provided representatives of the Roman Catholic Church with a plot of land in the Eastern Hills area. Soon after, the Augustinian monk James Gold , who arrived from Great Britain , whose responsibilities included organizing the parish in Melbourne and becoming its head, decided to build a cathedral on a newly allocated plot of land. At that time, the Catholic community of Melbourne was almost one hundred percent Irish , and therefore it was decided to dedicate the new cathedral to Saint Patrick , the patron saint of Ireland .
One of the most famous architects of Melbourne of the time, William Wardell, was invited to work on the project. However, work on the project was postponed due to an acute shortage of skilled labor caused by the gold rush , when almost the entire working-age population was involved in the development of gold mines. The first stone in the foundation of the new cathedral was laid only in 1858 . The design of the cathedral was carried out in the Neo - Gothic style based on the designs of medieval English churches. This style was very popular in the construction of churches in the mid- 19th century . The nave of the cathedral is designed in the early English style, while the rest of the building is made in the style of later Gothic. Subsequently, William Wardell designed the Church of St. Mary in Sydney according to a similar plan.
The construction of the nave was completed within ten years, but work on the rest of the building progressed slowly and slowed even more during the economic depression of 1891 . Only in 1897 the cathedral was consecrated, but even at that moment it was not finally built. For the final completion of work on the cathedral, the Catholic community of Melbourne needed to raise additional funds, which further delayed the construction of the cathedral. Daniel Mannix , who became Archbishop of Melbourne in 1917 , made great efforts to complete the work on the cathedral. The construction of the building was finally completed in 1939 .
In 1970, Pope Paul VI became the first pope to visit the Cathedral, and in 1974 he served in a small basilica. In 1986, Pope John Paul II visited St. Patrick's Cathedral.
The cathedral was built according to the traditional scheme with the main axis running from east to west, with an altar located in the eastern part. In terms of plan, the cathedral is a Latin cross with a nave located in a long part. The length of the cathedral along the long axis is 103.6 meters, the width along the short axis is 56.4 meters, the width of the nave is 25.3 meters. The height of the nave is 28.9 meters, the height of the main spire is 105 meters, the height of the towers on the sides of the main entrance is 61.9 meters.
Literature
- O'Farrell, Patrick (1977). The Catholic Church and Community in Australia. Thomas Nelson (Australia), west Melbourne.