St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney

St Mary's Cathedral
Cathedral Church and Minor Basilica of the Immaculate Mother of God, Help of Christians, Patroness of Australia
St Mary's Basilica
St Mary's Cathedral at night
St Mary's Cathedral
33°52′16″S 151°12′48″E / 33.87111°S 151.21333°E / -33.87111; 151.21333
Location	Sydney, New South Wales
Country	Australia
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Website	stmaryscathedral.org.au
History
Former name(s)	St Mary's Chapel
Status	Minor basilica (since 1932) Cathedral (since 1835) Chapel (1821–1835) National shrine[1]
Founded	21 October 1821 (1821-10-21)
Dedication	Immaculate Conception, Mary Help of Christians
Dedicated	29 June 1865 (1865-06-29)
Consecrated	8 September 1882
Relics held	First class relic of St Francis Xavier displayed, various others privately held
Events	Ruined by fire (29 June 1865 (1865-06-29))
Past bishop(s)	George Pell, Edward Clancy, John Bede Polding
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Architect(s)	William Wardell (present building) Augustus Welby Pugin (extensions to first building)
Architectural type	Chapel (first building) Cathedral (present building)
Style	Geometric Decorated Gothic
Years built	1851 (first cathedral) 1928 (nave completed) 2000 (spires added)
Groundbreaking	1821 (1821) (St Mary's Chapel) 1868 (1868) (present-day cathedral)
Specifications
Length	107 metres (351 ft)
Nave width	24.3 metres (80 ft)
Nave height	22.5 metres (74 ft)
Number of spires	2
Spire height	74.6 metres (245 ft)
Materials	Sydney sandstone, Oamaru stone, marble, alabaster, Moruya granite
Bells	14
Tenor bell weight	34 long cwt 1 qr 3 lb (3,839 lb or 1,741 kg)
Administration
Province	Sydney
Metropolis	Sydney
Archdiocese	Metropolitan Archdiocese of Sydney
Deanery	City Deanery
Parish	St Mary's
Clergy
Archbishop	Anthony Fisher OP
Auxiliary Bishop(s)	Terence Brady, Richard Umbers, Danny Meagher
Dean	Donald Richardson
Chancellor	Chris Meney (Lay Chancellor)
Assistant priest(s)	Brendan Purcell, Emmanuel Lubega, Lewi Barakat
Laity
Director of music	Daniel Justin
Organist(s)	Simon Niemiński (Assistant Director of Music)
Servers' guild	Archconfraternity of St. Stephen
New South Wales Heritage Register
Official name	St. Mary's Catholic Cathedral and Chapter House; Saint Mary's Cathedral; St Marys Cathedral
Type	State heritage (complex / group)
Designated	3 September 2004
Reference no.	1709
Type	Cathedral
Category	Religion
Builders	Jacob Inder (Chapter House)

The Cathedral Church and Minor Basilica of the Immaculate Mother of God, Help of Christians, Patroness of Australia (colloquially, St Mary's Cathedral) is the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney and the seat of the Archbishop of Sydney, currently Anthony Fisher OP. It is dedicated to the "Immaculate Mother of God, Help of Christians", Patroness of Australia and holds the title and dignity of a minor basilica, bestowed upon it by Pope Pius XI on 4 August 1932.^[2]

St Mary's has the greatest length of any church in Australia. It is located on College Street near the eastern border of the Sydney central business district in the City of Sydney local government area of New South Wales, Australia. Despite the high-rise development of the central business district, the cathedral's imposing structure and twin spires make it a landmark from every direction. In 2008, St Mary's Cathedral became the focus of World Youth Day 2008 and was visited by Pope Benedict XVI who consecrated the new forward altar. The cathedral was designed by William Wardell and built from 1866 to 1928. It is also known as St Mary's Catholic Cathedral and Chapter House, Saint Mary's Cathedral and St Mary's Cathedral. The property was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 3 September 2004.^[3]