ST MARY'S CATHEDRAL, PERTH

St Mary's Cathedral, Perth, officially the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Perth, and seat of its Archbishop, currently Timothy Costelloe. The cathedral is at the centre of Victoria Square, on the northern end of Victoria Avenue, Perth, Western Australia.

The cathedral as it now stands was constructed in three main phases, with the first phase completed in 1865. Plans were drawn up for the replacement of the cathedral in the 1920s with a larger Perpendicular Gothic edifice. However, construction was interrupted by the onset of the Great Depression, leaving a new transept and sanctuary, with the aisle of the original cathedral as its nave. After 70 years incomplete, and portions of the cathedral requiring extensive repair work, funds were eventually raised in the late 1990s and early 2000s for the completion of the expansion. A new curved design for the expansion was created, and featured a second spire and underground parish centre. The cathedral closed for construction in 2006, and reopened in December 2009.

The completed Cathedral was officially opened by the then Archbishop of Perth, Barry Hickey on 8 December 2009, in a ceremony attended by the Apostolic Nuncio, Cardinal George Pell,33 bishops and 300 priests. The new design won three architectural design awards from the Western Australian chapter of the Australian Institute of Architects: The Jeffrey Howlett Award, the George Temple Pool ward, and the Margaret Pitt Morrison Award for Heritage. The costs of the renovation had blown out to $32.9 million by March 2009. The photos here were taken in May 2011.

This post is part of the Spiritual Sundays meme,
and also part of the inSPIREd Sunday meme.