SACRED HEART CATHEDRAL
NEWCASTLE, NSW CATHOLIC
PAUL SCOTT
The red numbers on this plan of Sacred Heart Cathedral indicate the route we shall take in exploring this building. We notice the tower at top left, the chapel at 11, and the side chapel at 24, 25. The Cathedral is essentially cruciform in shape, with an apse at the East end, and several add-ons! We shall use the liturgical directions (where the sanctuary is assumed to lie directly to the East – with a capital E), as they help us to navigate any cathedral without regard to the lie of the land.
A comment about the page numbering ... . My cathedral websites have been created over a period of years, and there have been on-going changes. The pages of this site have numbers scattered with As, Bs and Cs, corresponding to grouping of the subject matter. I do not use this notation any more, but have decided to retain it here. First of all, that is easiest! But who knows, perhaps it was a better system?
A brief history of the Cathedral is given below. However, if you want to begin your tour of the Cathedral immediately, tap / click on START . You can also access intermediate points in the tour by a tap / click on the following links:
NOTE ON MAGNIFYING IMAGES
With this website format the images are large enough for most purposes. If there is a need for greater magnification of an image, go to the identical photo on
https://www.flickr.com/photos/paulscottinfo/albums
and use Command - + (Mac) or Windows - + (Windows).
HISTORY
[Wikipedia]
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle is a suffragan Latin Rite diocese of the Archdiocese of Sydney, established in 1847, initially as the Diocese of Maitland and changed to the current name in 1995. The diocese covers the Hunter and Mid North Coast regions of New South Wales in Australia.
History
Prior to the establishment of the diocese, the Hunter region was under the administration of the Sydney Archdiocese. The Church defines a diocese as ‘a portion of the people of God, which is entrusted to a bishop’ or, as ‘a community of Christ’s faithful in communion of faith and sacraments with their bishop.’ The three most notable priests assigned to the Hunter region, Therry, Dowling & Lynch strived to build churches, schools and establish Catholic parishes. Six Catholic parishes established were East Maitland 1835 (the first Catholic church built north of Sydney was the first St Joseph’s Church in 1835), Newcastle 1838, West Maitland 1841, Singleton 1845, Taree 1846, Raymond Terrace 1852.
During 1840 and 1845 Archbishop Bede Polding visited the whole Hunter Valley and laid foundation stones for churches at Wollombi and St John’s at Campbell’s Hill. The foundation stone was moved to West Maitland where St John the Baptist Church opened in 1846.
By Papal Brief dated 27 May 1847, the Titular See of East Maitland was created with Most Reverend Charles Henry Davis nominated as Bishop. Bishop Davis was also the Auxiliary Bishop to the Archbishop of Sydney and lived in Sydney, never visiting his Titular See in East Maitland, therefore the Titular See of East Maitland remained under the administration of the Archdiocese of Sydney until Most Reverend James Murray was nominated Bishop of Maitland in 1865, taking possession of St John the Baptist Church West Maitland as his Cathedral on 1 November 1866.
From 1866 the diocese extended to include Port Macquarie, Tamworth, Gunnedah, Walgett and Coonamble. In 1887 the Diocese of Maitland reduced in size by exclusion of Coonamble, Gunnedah and Tamworth districts. In 1933, after servicing the diocese for 87 years, the old cathedral building became inadequate for the needs of the parish and the diocese. In July 1933, Bishop Edmund Gleeson CSsR, officially announced that the Catholic Hall in Maitland would be converted to a Pro-Cathedral suitable as a place of worship. On 26 November 1933 the Catholic Hall was opened as the Pro-Cathedral and St John’s officially closed.
In 1966 boundaries were again altered to exclude Kendall parish to Lismore but include the parishes of Belmont, Swansea, Toronto, Booragul, Teralba, which are the present boundaries of the diocese.
In 1989 the Pro-Cathedral suffered damage as a result of an earthquake and was closed. Discussions were then held and it was decided to convert the Pro-Cathedral to its former use as a hall and to re-open St John’s as a Chapel for the Central Maitland area. On 24 June 1994 Bishop Leo Clarke conducted the ceremony of the Dedication of a Church and thus St John’s became a Chapel for the area. The 1989 earthquake was also a catalyst to consolidate the diocesan administration offices on one site. This was achieved in 1995 by purchasing the Sisters of Mercy Convent at Hamilton (a suburb of Newcastle) and the former Sacred Heart Parish Primary School, Hamilton.
By Papal Brief dated 14 June 1995, the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle was created and on 16 July 1995, the Sacred Heart Church in Hamilton became the Sacred Heart Cathedral for the Catholic Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Catholic_Diocese_of_Maitland-Newcastle
