The transformation of Melbourne’s St Patrick’s Cathedral and its surrounds has begun, with Archbishop Peter A Comensoli launching Light into the City as part of the annual Patrick Oration. Source: Melbourne Catholic.
The ambitious project will reimagine the cathedral precinct as a welcoming place of faith, culture, service and civic life for future generations.
Archbishop Comensoli delivered the Patrick Oration in the cathedral following a Mass to celebrate the feast day of St Patrick, the patron saint of the Archdiocese of Melbourne.
The oration was dedicated to the renewal project, Light into the City, which Archbishop Comensoli said was needed “to strengthen the Church’s mission to serve the city of Melbourne and its people from this place”.
Visitors in their hundreds of thousands participate in the spiritual and cultural life of the cathedral, Archbishop Comensoli said. And in all, close to a million people are estimated to enter the cathedral each year. Few other places in Melbourne “attract so many people, so consistently”.
But St Patrick’s Cathedral needs care through urgent restoration and renewal of the precinct, he said, detailing the deterioration of the sandstone – “It’s crumbling, and pieces are even falling off” – the need for roof and floor repairs, and the improvement of the lighting and sound systems.
Beyond restoring the physical structure of the cathedral, Light into the City aims to transform the surrounding area to be more welcoming, including the creation of gathering spaces and the repurposing of heritage-listed buildings for missionary outreach and cultural activities.
“‘The entrances must be opened and made accessible for all. The grounds need to be softened and renewed,” Archbishop Comensoli said.
Light into the City will be a once-in-a-generation effort to renew St Patrick’s and the cathedral precinct. The project requires vision and conviction, he said, and a total investment of $190 million.
The federal Government and donors have already provided $90 million, and Archbishop Comensoli invited the community to be part of this vision by participating in the public campaign to raise the needed funds.
The Patrick Oration ended with a parade of lanterns out of St Patrick’s Cathedral, carried by representatives of Melbourne’s diverse migrant and lay ecclesial communities and parishes, in a symbolic carrying out of light into the city
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‘Something luminous’: Archbishop launches vision for renewal of Cathedral and precinct (Melbourne Catholic)
