Catholic Church in Australia

{{Short description|none}} {{see also|Christianity in Australia}} {{Update|inaccurate=yes|date=June 2017}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2018}} {{Use Australian English|date=January 2013}} {{Infobox Christian denomination | icon = Emblem_of_the_Papacy_SE.svg | icon_width = 25px | icon_alt = | name = Catholic Church in Australia | native_name = {{langx|la|Ecclesia Catholica in Australia}} | native_name_lang = | image = St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney HDR b.jpg | imagewidth = 250px | caption = [[St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney]] | type = [[National polity]] | main_classification = [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] | orientation = [[Latin Church|Latin]] | scripture = [[Catholic bible|Bible]] | theology = [[Catholic theology]] | polity = [[Episcopal polity|Episcopal]] | governance = [[Australian Catholic Bishops' Conference]] | structure = | leader_title = [[Pope]] | leader_name = [[Leo XIV]] | leader_title1 = President of the [[Australian Catholic Bishops' Conference|ACBC]] | leader_name1 = [[Timothy Costelloe]] SDB | associations = | area = [[Australia]] | language = [[Australian English|English]], [[Ecclesiastical Latin|Latin]] | headquarters = | founded_date = [[First Fleet|1788]] | founded_place = [[Sydney]], [[New South Wales]] | number_of_followers = 5,886,980 (2021) | website = [https://www.catholic.org.au/ catholic.org.au] }} {{Catholic Church by country}} [[File:Australian Census 2011 demographic map - Australia by SLA - BCP field 2727 Christianity Catholic Persons.svg|thumb|right|300px|People who identify as Catholic as a percentage of the total population in Australia divided geographically by statistical local area, as of the 2011 census]] [[File:Mary MacKillop.jpg|thumb|[[Mary MacKillop]], co-founder of the [[Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart|Josephite Sisters]] became Australia's first [[canonised]] [[saint]] in October 2010.]]

The '''Catholic Church in Australia''' is part of the worldwide [[Catholic Church]] under the spiritual and administrative leadership of the [[Holy See]]. From origins as a suppressed, mainly Irish minority in early colonial times, the church has grown to be the largest Christian denomination in Australia, with a culturally diverse membership of around 5,075,907 people, representing about 20% of the overall population of Australia according to the 2021 [[Australian Bureau of Statistics|ABS]] Census data.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/people-and-communities/cultural-diversity-census/latest-release | title=Cultural diversity: Census, 2021 | Australian Bureau of Statistics | date=7 April 2022 }}</ref>

The church is the largest non-government provider of welfare and education services in Australia.<ref>[[Greg Sheridan]]; ''God is Good for You'', Allen & Unwin, 2018, p.25.</ref> [[Catholic Social Services Australia]] aids some 450,000 people annually, while the [[St Vincent de Paul Society]]'s 40,000 members form the largest volunteer welfare network in the country. In 2016, the church had some 760,000 students in more than 1,700 schools.<ref>[[Greg Sheridan]]; ''God is Good for You''; Allen & Unwin; 2018, p.25-26</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/4221.0|title=2016 Census: Schools, Australia, 2016|publisher=[[Australian Bureau of Statistics]]|access-date=21 March 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180130225506/http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/4221.0|archive-date=30 January 2018|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref name="ABS2011"/>

The church in Australia has five provinces: Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney. It has [[List of Catholic dioceses in Australia|35 dioceses]], comprising geographic areas as well as the military diocese and dioceses for the [[Chaldean Catholic Eparchy of Saint Thomas the Apostle of Sydney|Chaldean]], [[Maronite Catholic Eparchy of Saint Maron of Sydney|Maronite]], [[Melkite Greek Catholic Eparchy of Saint Michael Archangel in Sydney|Melkite]], Syro-Malabar (St Thomas Christians), and [[Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Saints Peter and Paul of Melbourne|Ukrainian]] [[Christian liturgy|Rite]]s.<ref name="catholic.org.au">{{Cite web|url=https://www.catholic.org.au/about-us/the-catholic-church-in-australia|title=Catholic Church in Australia|website=www.catholic.org.au|access-date=2019-03-10}}</ref> The national assembly of bishops is the [[Australian Catholic Bishops Conference]] (ACBC).<ref name="ReferenceA">{{Cite web|url=https://www.catholic.org.au/about-us/introduction|title=Structure - Catholic Church in Australia|website=www.catholic.org.au|access-date=2019-03-10}}</ref> There are a further 175 [[Catholic religious order]]s operating in Australia, affiliated under Catholic Religious Australia.<ref name="catholic.org.au"/><ref name="ReferenceA"/> One Australian has been recognised as a saint by the Catholic Church: [[Mary MacKillop]], who co-founded the [[Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart]] ("Josephite") religious institute in the 19th century.<ref>[https://www.abc.net.au/news/2010-10-17/mary-mackillop-officially-declared-a-saint/2300988 Mary MacKillop officially declared a saint]; abc.net.au; 18 Oct 2010</ref>

==Demographics== [[File:AustralianReligiousAffiliation 2.svg|thumb|500px|Major religious affiliations in Australia by census year<ref name="ABS 2008 Yr Bk">{{cite web |url=http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/7d12b0f6763c78caca257061001cc588/636F496B2B943F12CA2573D200109DA9?opendocument |work=1301.0 – Year Book Australia, 2008 |title=Cultural diversity |date=7 February 2008 |publisher=Australian Bureau of Statistics |access-date=15 February 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100213060354/http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/7d12b0f6763c78caca257061001cc588/636F496B2B943F12CA2573D200109DA9?opendocument |archive-date=13 February 2010 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>]]

Since the 1980s, Catholicism has been the largest Christian denomination in Australia, constituting around one-quarter of the overall population and becoming slightly larger than the [[Anglican Church of Australia|Anglican]] and [[Uniting Church in Australia|Uniting]] churches combined. Up until the {{CensusAU|2016}}, adherents had been recorded as growing both numerically and as a percentage of the population; however, the 2016 census found a fall in both overall numbers and the percentage of Catholics as a proportion of Australian residents, with 5,291,839 Australian Catholics (around 22.6% of the population) in 2016, down from 5,439,257 in the {{CensusAU|2011}} (25.3% of the population).<ref name="abs.gov.au">{{Cite web |title=Australian Bureau of Statistics |url=https://www.abs.gov.au/ |access-date=2022-11-08 |website=www.abs.gov.au |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Australian Bureau of Statistics">{{cite web |url=http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/ABSNavigation/prenav/ViewData?action=404&documentproductno=0&documenttype=Details&order=1&tabname=Details&areacode=0&issue=2006&producttype=Census%20Tables&javascript=true&textversion=false&navmapdisplayed=true&breadcrumb=TLPD&&collection=Census&period=2006&productlabel=Religious%20Affiliation%20%28narrow%20groups%29%20by%20Sex&producttype=Census%20Tables&method=Place%20of%20Usual%20Residence&topic=Religion& |work=Cat. No. 2068.0 – 2006 Census Tables |publisher=Australian Bureau of Statistics |title=Religious Affiliation (narrow groups) |date=27 June 2007 |access-date=31 March 2012 }}</ref> This was repeated again in 2021, with the numbers dropping to 5,075,907 people, representing about 20% of the overall population of Australia according to the 2021 ABS Census data.[1]

Until the {{CensusAU|1986}}, Australia's most populous Christian church was the [[Anglican Church of Australia]]. Since then, Catholics have outnumbered Anglicans by an increasing margin. The change is partly explained by changes in [[Immigration to Australia|immigration patterns]].<ref name="ReferenceB">[http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by%20Subject/2071.0~2016~Main%20Features~Religion%20Data%20Summary~70 Religion in Australia: 2016 Census Data Summary]; http://www.abs.gov.au</ref><ref name="ABS1994">{{cite web |url=http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/2f762f95845417aeca25706c00834efa/10072ec3ffc4f7b4ca2570ec00787c40!OpenDocument |title=Special Feature: Trends in religious affiliation |publisher=Australian Bureau of Statistics |date=27 May 1994 |work=4102.0 – Australian Social Trends, 1994 |access-date=31 March 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120326222123/http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/2f762f95845417aeca25706c00834efa/10072ec3ffc4f7b4ca2570ec00787c40!OpenDocument |archive-date=26 March 2012 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> Before the [[Second World War]], the majority of immigrants to Australia came from the [[United Kingdom]] and most Catholic immigrants came from [[Ireland]]. After the war, Australia's immigration diversified, and more than 6.5 million migrants arrived in the following 60 years, including more than a million Catholics from [[Italy]], [[Malta]], [[Lebanon]], the [[Netherlands]], [[Germany]], [[Poland]], [[Croatia]] and [[Hungary]].<ref name="ABS1994"/>

At the 2016 Census, the ancestries with which Australian Catholics most identified were English (1.49 million), Australian (1.12 million), Irish (577,000), Italian (567,000) and Filipino (181,000).

Despite a growing population of Catholics, weekly [[Mass (Catholic Church)|Mass]] attendance has declined from an estimated 74% in the mid-1950s to around 14% in 2006.<ref name="ncls.org.au">{{cite press release |url=http://www.ncls.org.au/default.aspx?sitemapid=2106 |title=NCLS releases latest estimates of church attendance |publisher=National Church Life Survey Research |date=28 February 2004 |access-date=1 January 2007 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927223810/http://www.ncls.org.au/default.aspx?sitemapid=2106 |archive-date=27 September 2007 |df=dmy-all }}</ref><ref name="Mass Attendance in Australia">{{cite web | url=https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:khPclw4kaToJ:www.pro.catholic.org.au/pdf/SummaryReport_MassAttendanceInAustralia.pdf+&hl=en&gl=au&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESglphg5TdyTSSnVkAOX2qlEThcJkTJG8lUgKK_iUgc3Lpap7fUtMUIktbi5EAaTYZImGsgvfYOIv5tATkYLJ2SPwVBOwpvKhulrQOk0jdTLtY2wLkTasEWZqGo10JAfcm2Vl9xA&sig=AHIEtbSoZiLUN-l7obWZ7JHKQxYNj6hPBQ |title=Mass Attendance in Australia }}</ref>

There are seven [[archdiocese]]s and 32 [[diocese]]s, with an estimated 3,000 [[priest]]s and 9,000 men and women in [[institutes of consecrated life]] and [[societies of apostolic life]], including six dioceses that cover the whole country: one each for those who belong to the Chaldean, Maronite, Melkite, Syro-Malabar and Ukrainian rites and one for those serving in the [[Catholic Diocese of the Australian Defence Force|Australian Defence Force]]s. There is also a [[personal ordinariate]] for former Anglicans, which has a similar status to a diocese.<ref name="ordinariate.org.au">{{cite web|url=http://ordinariate.org.au/About%20Us/aboutus_OLSC.htm|title=The Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of the Southern Cross|access-date=13 March 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150416061535/http://ordinariate.org.au/About%20Us/aboutus_OLSC.htm|archive-date=16 April 2015|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref name="CHADF">{{cite web |title=Military Ordinariate of Australia, Military |work=The Hierarchy of the Catholic Church |url=http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/dmlau.html |date=19 February 2011 |access-date=6 January 2007 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070205194228/http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/dmlau.html |archive-date=5 February 2007 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> {| class="wikitable sortable" ! State/Territory<ref name="QuickStats">{{cite web|url=http://www.abs.gov.au/websitedbs/censushome.nsf/home/quickstats?opendocument&navpos=220|title=QuickStats|publisher=[[Australian Bureau of Statistics]]|access-date=13 March 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170402081833/http://abs.gov.au/websitedbs/censushome.nsf/home/quickstats?opendocument&navpos=220|archive-date=2 April 2017|df=dmy-all}}</ref>!! % 2016!! % 2011!! % 2006!! % 2001 |- | [[Australian Capital Territory]] |style="text-align:right"| 22.3 |style="text-align:right"| 26.1 |style="text-align:right"| 28.0 |style="text-align:right"| 29.1 |- | [[New South Wales]] |style="text-align:right"| 24.7 |style="text-align:right"| 27.5 |style="text-align:right"| 28.2 |style="text-align:right"| 28.9 |- | [[Northern Territory]] |style="text-align:right"| 19.9 |style="text-align:right"| 21.6 |style="text-align:right"| 21.1 |style="text-align:right"| 22.2 |- | [[Queensland]] |style="text-align:right"| 21.7 |style="text-align:right"| 23.8 |style="text-align:right"| 24.0 |style="text-align:right"| 24.8 |- | [[South Australia]] |style="text-align:right"| 18.0 |style="text-align:right"| 19.9 |style="text-align:right"| 20.2 |style="text-align:right"| 20.8 |- | [[Tasmania]] |style="text-align:right"| 15.6 |style="text-align:right"| 17.9 |style="text-align:right"| 18.4 |style="text-align:right"| 19.3 |- | Total |style="text-align:right"| 22.6 |style="text-align:right"| 25.3 |style="text-align:right"| 25.8 |style="text-align:right"| 26.6 |- | [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]] |style="text-align:right"| 23.2 |style="text-align:right"| 26.7 |style="text-align:right"| 27.5 |style="text-align:right"| 28.4 |- | [[Western Australia]] |style="text-align:right"| 21.4 |style="text-align:right"| 23.6 |style="text-align:right"| 23.7 |style="text-align:right"| 24.7 |}

==History==

===Arrival and suppression=== Among the first Catholics known to have sighted Australia were the crew of a Spanish expedition of 1605–6. In 1606, the expedition's leader, [[Pedro Fernandez de Quiros]], landed in the [[New Hebrides]] believing it to be the fabled southern continent. He named the land ''Austrialis del Espiritu Santo'' ("Southern Land of the Holy Spirit").<ref>{{cite book |chapter-url=https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/quiros-pedro-fernandez-de-2568 |title=Biography – Pedro Fernandez de Quiros – Australian Dictionary of Biography |chapter=Quiros, Pedro Fernandez de (1563–1615) |publisher=Adb.online.anu.edu.au |access-date=31 July 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120320102431/http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/quiros-pedro-fernandez-de-2568 |archive-date=20 March 2012 |df=dmy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nla.gov.au/exhibitions/southland/index.html |archive-url=https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20060913140000/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/60542/20060914-0000/www.nla.gov.au/exhibitions/southland/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=13 September 2006 |title=South Land to New Holland | National Library of Australia |publisher=Nla.gov.au |access-date=31 July 2012}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> Later that year, his deputy [[Luís Vaz de Torres]] sailed through the [[Torres Strait]] between Australia and New Guinea.<ref>{{cite book |chapter-url=https://adbonline.anu.edu.au/biogs/A020488b.htm |title=Biography – Luis Vaez de Torres – Australian Dictionary of Biography |chapter=Torres, Luis Vaez de (?–?) |publisher=Adbonline.anu.edu.au |access-date=31 July 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110815203323/http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/torres-luis-vaez-de-2741 |archive-date=15 August 2011 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

The permanent presence of Catholicism in Australia came rather with the arrival of the [[First Fleet]] of British convict ships at Sydney in 1788. One-tenth of all the convicts who came to Australia on the First Fleet were Catholic, and at least half of them were born in Ireland.<ref name="ABS1994"/> A small proportion of [[British marines]] on the First Fleet were also Catholic.

Just as the British were setting up the new colony, French captain [[Jean-François de Galaup, comte de Lapérouse]] arrived off [[Botany Bay]] with two ships.<ref>See extract from La Perouse's journal published in 1799 as; "A Voyage Around the world", pp. 179–180 in Frank Crowley (1980), ''Colonial Australia. A Documentary History of Australia 1, 1788–1840.'' 3–4, Thomas Nelson, Melbourne. {{ISBN|0-17-005406-3}}</ref><ref name=hill>David Hill, ''1788: The Brutal Truth of the First Fleet''</ref><ref>{{cite journal |first= Robert J |last= King |title=What brought Lapérouse to Botany Bay? |journal=Journal of the Royal Australian Historical Society |volume=85, pt.2 |date = December 1999|pages=140–147 |url=http://search.informit.com.au/search;res=APAFT }}</ref> La Pérouse was 6 weeks in Botany Bay, where the French, besides other things, held Catholic Masses.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://laperousemuseum.org/french-firsts/christian-services|title=Christian Services|date=26 April 2013|access-date=28 March 2018|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170712120752/https://laperousemuseum.org/french-firsts/christian-services/|archive-date=12 July 2017|df=dmy-all}}</ref> The crew conducted the first Catholic burial, that of Father [[Louis Receveur]], a Franciscan friar who died while the ships were at anchor at Botany Bay.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://saintanneshomeschooling.org/catholic_history/botany-bay-story |title=Catholic History of Australia :: Botany Bay Story |date=6 October 2008 |access-date=31 July 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081006162252/http://saintanneshomeschooling.org/catholic_history/botany-bay-story |archive-date=6 October 2008 }}</ref>

Some of the Irish convicts had been transported to Australia for political crimes or social rebellion in Ireland, so the authorities were suspicious of Catholicism for the first three decades of settlement.<ref name="catholicaustralia.com.au">{{cite web|url=http://www.catholicaustralia.com.au/page.php?pg=austchurch-history |title=The Catholic Community in Australia |publisher=Catholic Australia |access-date=31 July 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120324111940/http://www.catholicaustralia.com.au/page.php?pg=austchurch-history |archive-date=24 March 2012 |df=dmy }}</ref>

Catholic convicts were compelled to attend Church of England services and their children and orphans were raised by the authorities as Anglicans.<ref name="newadvent.org">{{cite web |url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02113b.htm |title=Catholic Encyclopedia: Australia |publisher=Newadvent.org |access-date=31 July 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161201235645/http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02113b.htm |archive-date=1 December 2016 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> The first Catholic priests arrived in Australia as convicts in 1800 – James Harold,<ref>{{cite journal|author=H. Perkins|title=Father Harold: the story of a convict priest|journal=Journal of the Australian Catholic Historical Society|volume=3|number=3|date=1971|pages=1–14}}</ref> [[James Dixon (priest)|James Dixon]] and Peter O'Neill, who had been convicted for "complicity" in the Irish [[1798 Rebellion]]. Fr Dixon was conditionally emancipated and permitted to celebrate Mass.<ref name=Fra>{{cite journal |last1=Franklin |first1=James |author-link=James Franklin (philosopher) |date=2021 |title=Sydney 1803: When Catholics were tolerated and Freemasons banned |url=http://web.maths.unsw.edu.au/~jim/sydney1803.pdf |journal=Journal of the Royal Australian Historical Society |volume=107 |issue=2 |pages=135–155 |doi= |access-date=27 Dec 2021}}</ref> On 15 May 1803, in vestments made from curtains and with a chalice made of tin, he conducted the first Catholic Mass in "[[New South Wales]]".<ref name="newadvent.org" /> The [[Castle Hill convict rebellion]] of 1804, which large numbers of Catholic convicts participated in, led Dixon's permission to celebrate Mass to be revoked. [[Jeremiah O'Flynn]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/121542607/|title=The Sydney Morning Herald from Sydney, New South Wales on July 14, 2001 · Page 9|date=14 July 2001 |access-date=13 March 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170313131342/https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/121542607/|archive-date=13 March 2017|df=dmy-all}}</ref> an Irish [[Cistercian]] monk, was appointed as [[Prefect Apostolic]] of [[New Holland (Australia)|New Holland]] and set out from Britain for the colony, uninvited. Watched by authorities, O'Flynn secretly performed priestly duties before being arrested and deported to London. Reaction to the affair in Britain led to two further priests being allowed to travel to the colony in 1820 — [[John Joseph Therry]] and [[Philip Conolly]].<ref name="catholicaustralia.com.au"/> The foundation stone for the first [[St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney|St Mary's Church]] was laid on 29 October 1821 by Governor [[Lachlan Macquarie]].

The absence of a Catholic mission in Australia before 1818 reflected the legal disabilities on Catholics in Britain and Ireland. The government therefore endorsed the English [[Benedictine]] monks to lead the early church in the colony.<ref>{{cite book |last=Nairn |first=Bede |chapter-url=https://adbonline.anu.edu.au/biogs/A020300b.htm |title=Biography – John Bede Polding – Australian Dictionary of Biography |chapter=Polding, John Bede (1794–1877) |publisher=Adbonline.anu.edu.au |access-date=31 July 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20110607101447/https://adbonline.anu.edu.au/biogs/A020300b.htm |archive-date=7 June 2011 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> The Reverend [[William Bernard Ullathorne]] (1806–1889) was instrumental in influencing [[Pope Gregory XVI]] to establish the hierarchy in Australia. Ullathorne was in Australia from 1833 to 1836 as vicar-general to Bishop [[William Placid Morris|William Morris]] of [[Mauritius]], whose jurisdiction extended over the Australian missions.

The [[Church of England]] was disestablished in the colony of New South Wales by the ''[[Church Act of 1836]]'', which also provided equal funding of Protestant and Catholic churches.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nma.gov.au/online_features/defining_moments/featured/bourke-church-act|title=Bourke Church Act - National Museum of Australia|website=www.nma.gov.au|access-date=28 March 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180328132203/http://www.nma.gov.au/online_features/defining_moments/featured/bourke-church-act|archive-date=28 March 2018|df=dmy-all}}</ref> Drafted by the Catholic attorney-general [[John Plunkett]], the act established legal equality for Anglicans, Catholics and Presbyterians and was later extended to Methodists. Nevertheless, social attitudes were slow to change. A laywoman, [[Caroline Chisholm]] (1808–1877), faced discouragements and anti-Catholic feeling when she sought to establish a migrant women's shelter. She worked for women's welfare in the colonies in the 1840s, though her humanitarian efforts later won her fame in England and great influence in achieving support for families in the colony.<ref>{{cite book |last=Iltis |first=Judith |chapter-url=https://adbonline.anu.edu.au/biogs/A010208b.htm |title=Biography – Caroline Chisholm – Australian Dictionary of Biography |chapter=Chisholm, Caroline (1808–1877) |publisher=Adbonline.anu.edu.au |access-date=31 July 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20110607101448/http://adbonline.anu.edu.au/biogs/A010208b.htm |archive-date=7 June 2011 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

[[File:St Aloysius Church, Sevenhill.JPG|thumb|St Aloysius Church, [[Sevenhill, South Australia]]. The [[Jesuits]] were the first [[Catholic religious order|order]] of priests to enter and establish houses in South Australia, Victoria, Queensland and the Northern Territory – Austrian Jesuits established themselves in the south and north and Irish in the east.]] [[File:St Patrick's Cathedral, Melbourne, Australia.jpg|thumb|[[St Patrick's Cathedral, Melbourne]]]]

The church's most prominent early leader was [[John Bede Polding]], a [[Benedictine monk]] who was Sydney's first bishop (and then archbishop) from 1835 to 1877. Polding requested a community of nuns be sent to the colony and five Irish [[Sisters of Charity of Australia|Sisters of Charity]] arrived in 1838. While tensions arose between the English Benedictine hierarchy and the Irish, [[Ignatian]]-tradition religious institute from the start, the sisters set about pastoral care in a women's prison and began visiting hospitals and schools and establishing employment for convict women. In 1847, two sisters transferred to [[Hobart]] and established a school.<ref>{{cite web |title=Founding of the Sisters of Charity in Australia |publisher=Sisters of Charity of Australia |url=http://www.sistersofcharity.org.au/html/founding_aust.php |access-date=31 July 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091001010641/http://www.sistersofcharity.org.au/html/founding_aust.php |archive-date=1 October 2009 }}</ref> The sisters went on to establish hospitals in four of the eastern states, beginning with [[St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney]], in 1857 as a free hospital for all people, but especially for the poor.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.stvincents.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=132&Itemid=160 |title=St Vincent's Hospital, history and tradition, sesquicentenary – sth.stvincents.com.au |publisher=Stvincents.com.au |access-date=31 July 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120320124615/http://www.stvincents.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=132&Itemid=160 |archive-date=20 March 2012 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

At Polding's request, the [[Congregation of Christian Brothers|Christian Brothers]] arrived in Sydney in 1843 to assist in schools. Again jurisdictional tensions arose and the brothers returned to Ireland. In 1857, Polding founded an Australian [[religious institute]] in the Benedictine tradition – the [[Sisters of the Good Samaritan]] – to work in education and social work.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.goodsams.org.au/html/who/who.htm |title=Sisters of The Good Samaritans |publisher=Goodsams.org.au |access-date=31 July 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120313090121/http://www.goodsams.org.au/html/who/who.htm |archive-date=13 March 2012 |df=dmy }}</ref> While Polding was in office, construction began on the ambitious [[Gothic Revival]] designs for [[St Patrick's Cathedral, Melbourne]], and the final St Mary's Cathedral in Sydney.

In 1845, Polding established the Australian Holy Catholic Guild of Saints Mary and Joseph. Some parishes have memorials dedicated to deceased members and friends. One such is at St Patrick's Boorowa, New South Wales.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://monumentaustralia.org.au/themes/culture/religion/display/105125-australian-holy-catholic-guild | title=Australian Holy Catholic Guild | Monument Australia }}</ref> Examples of the Guild's reporting to members and election of office bearers can be seen in the Freeman's Journal.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1862-01-18 |title=AUSTRALIAN HOLY CATHOLIC GUILD OF ST. MARY AND ST. JOSEPH. |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article115764327 |access-date=2025-05-26 |work=Freeman's Journal}}</ref> In 1848, they met under St Patrick's Church at the intersection of George and Hunter streets and had 250 members at that time.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks06/0600151h.html#chapter05 | title=Sydney in 1848 }}</ref> Records of the association, from 1845 to 1996, are held at the NSW State Library and this includes a copy of the constitution of the guild.<ref>{{cite web | title=Search the collection | url=https://collection.sl.nsw.gov.au/search?search=%22catholic%20guild%22 }}</ref>

Establishing themselves first at [[Sevenhill]], in the newly established colony of [[South Australia]] in 1848, the [[Jesuits]] were the first religious order of priests to enter and establish houses in South Australia, Victoria, [[Queensland]] and the [[Northern Territory]] – Austrian Jesuits established themselves in the south and north and Irish in the east. The [[goldrush]] saw an increase in the population and prosperity of the colonies and called for an increase in the number of [[episcopal see]]s. When gold was discovered in late 1851, there were an estimated 9,000 Catholics in the Colony of Victoria, increasing to 100,000 by the time the Jesuits arrived 14 years later. While the Austrian priests traversed the Outback on horseback to found missions and schools, the Irish priests arrived in the east in 1860 and had by 1880 established the major schools of [[Xavier College]] in Melbourne and in Sydney [[St Aloysius' College (Sydney)|St Aloysius' College]] and [[Saint Ignatius' College, Riverview|Saint Ignatius' College]], [[Riverview, New South Wales|Riverview]] – which each survive to the present.<ref>{{cite web |title=History of the Jesuits in Australia |publisher=Australian Jesuits |url=http://www.jesuit.org.au/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=47&Itemid=82 |access-date=31 July 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070829053500/http://jesuit.org.au/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=47&Itemid=82 |archive-date=29 August 2007 }}</ref>

During 1869 and 1870, some Australian-based clergy attended the first Vatican Council in Rome. Despite lobbying by English Benedictine bishops, the Irish cleric [[Patrick Francis Moran]] won the favour of [[Pope Leo XIII]] and was appointed Archbishop of Sydney in 1884, arriving in New South Wales on 8 September. A prominent figure in Australian Catholic history, he became Australia's first cardinal the following year after being summoned back to Rome, and presided over Plenary Councils of Australasia in 1885, 1895 and 1905 which laid the foundations for Church structure in the 20th century.<ref>[https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/moran-patrick-francis-7648 Moran, Patrick Francis (1830–1911)]; Australian Dictionary of Biography</ref> The Australian colonies had hitherto relied heavily on immigrant clergy. In 1889, Moran founded [[St Patrick's College, Manly]], intended to provide priests for all the colonies. Moran believed that Catholics' political and civil rights were threatened in Australia and, in 1896, saw deliberate discrimination in a situation where "no office of first, or even second, rate importance is held by a Catholic".<ref>{{cite book |author=A. E. Cahill |chapter-url=https://adbonline.anu.edu.au/biogs/A100563b.htm |title=Biography – Patrick Francis Moran – Australian Dictionary of Biography |chapter=Moran, Patrick Francis (1830–1911) |publisher=Adbonline.anu.edu.au |date=16 August 1911 |access-date=31 July 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091219204250/http://adbonline.anu.edu.au/biogs/A100563b.htm |archive-date=19 December 2009 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

In Rome in 1884, Moran had met the Venerable [[Mary Potter (nun)|Mary Potter]] and invited her to send a group of her newly established [[Little Company of Mary]] sisters to Australia in order to establish a local congregation. Six pioneering sisters arrived in Sydney in November 1885, commencing work caring for the sick and dying. Establishing a convent at Lewishman, they had nearly fifty members within just five years. In 1889 they opened a small hospital at Lewisham. Under the leadership of [[Annie Lynch|Mother Mary Xavier Lynch]] from 1899, the hospital would grow to be one of Sydney's leading general hospitals and nursing schools.<ref name="blueplaques.nsw.gov.au">[https://blueplaques.nsw.gov.au/blue-plaques/locations/little-company-of-mary-sisters About Little Company of Mary Sisters]; NSW Blue Plaques Program</ref> Mother Mary Xavier established a new hospital at Adelaide in 1900 and [[Calvary Hospital, Wagga Wagga|Wagga Wagga]] in 1926, and despatched sisters to found hospitals in New Zealand and South Africa.<ref name="blueplaques.nsw.gov.au"/> In 1922 she became the order's first provincial of Australasia, and is remembered as one of Australia's most noted hospital and nursing administrators.<ref>[https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/lynch-annie-7269 Lynch, Annie (1870–1938)]; Australian Dictionary of Biography</ref>

The Catholic Church also became involved in mission work among the Aboriginal people of Australia during the 19th century as Europeans came to control much of the continent.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://australiancatholichistoricalsociety.com.au/history-resources/catholics-and-indigenous-australians/ |title=Catholics and Indigenous Australians |date=2020 |website=Australian Catholic Historical Society |publisher= |access-date=29 June 2021}}</ref> According to Aboriginal anthropologist [[Kathleen Butler-McIlwraith]], there were many occasions when the Catholic Church attempted to advocate for Aboriginal rights, but the missionaries were also "functionaries of the [[Protector of Aborigines|Protection]] and Assimilation policies" of the government and so "directly contributed to the current disadvantage experienced by Indigenous Australians".<ref>{{cite web |title=(lost title) |date=8 June 2011 |url=http://www.acu.edu.au/about_acu/faculties_schools_institutes/faculties/theology_and_philosophy/schools/theology/ejournal/past_issues/aejt_11/social_justice_indigenous_australians/ |access-date=31 July 2012 }}{{dead link|date=May 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.therecord.com.au/site/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1467&Itemid=1 |title=Catholic news from the parish, the nation and the world |publisher=Therecord.com.au |access-date=31 July 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111002213255/http://www.therecord.com.au/site/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1467&Itemid=1 |archive-date=2 October 2011 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> The missionaries themselves argued that they protected children from dysfunctional aspects of indigenous culture.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://web.maths.unsw.edu.au/~jim/franklinmissions.pdf|author=J. Franklin|title=Catholic missions to aboriginal Australia: an evaluation of their overall effect|work=Journal of the Australian Catholic Historical Society|date=2016|access-date=1 December 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161201211746/http://web.maths.unsw.edu.au/~jim/franklinmissions.pdf|archive-date=1 December 2016|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

With the withdrawal of state aid for church schools around 1880, the Catholic Church, unlike other Australian churches, put great energy and resources into creating a comprehensive alternative system of education. It was largely staffed by sisters, brothers and priests of religious institutes, such as the Christian Brothers (who had returned to Australia in 1868); the [[Sisters of Mercy]] (who had arrived in Perth in 1846); [[Marist Brothers]], who came from France in 1872; and the [[Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart|Sisters of St Joseph]], founded in Australia by Mary MacKillop and Fr [[Julian Tenison Woods]] in 1867.<ref>{{cite web |title=Brothers in Australia |website=Christian Brothers NSW / ACT Region |url=http://www.cfc.edu.au/Brothers_in_Australia/brothers_in_australia.htm |access-date=31 July 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716111434/http://www.cfc.edu.au/Brothers_in_Australia/brothers_in_australia.htm |archive-date=16 July 2011 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=History |publisher=The Institute of Sisters of Mercy of Australia |url=http://www.mercy.org.au/whoweare/default.cfm?loadref=21 |access-date=31 July 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111005071836/http://www.mercy.org.au/whoweare/default.cfm?loadref=21 |archive-date=5 October 2011 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=(lost title) |url=http://www.maristoz.edu.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=18&Itemid=96 |date=6 July 2011 |access-date=31 July 2012 }}{{dead link|date=May 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> MacKillop travelled throughout [[Australasia]] and established schools, convents and charitable institutions but came into conflict with those bishops who preferred diocesan control of the institute rather than central control from Adelaide by the Josephite religious institute. MacKillop administered the Josephites as a national religious institute at a time when Australia was divided among individually governed colonies. She is today the most revered of Australian Catholics, [[beatified]] by [[Pope John Paul II]] in 1995 and [[canonised]] by [[Benedict XVI]] in 2010.<ref>{{cite book |last=Thorpe |first=Osmund |chapter-url=https://adbonline.anu.edu.au/biogs/A050199b.htm?hilite=mary%3Bmackillop |title=Biography – Mary Helen MacKillop – Australian Dictionary of Biography |chapter=MacKillop, Mary Helen (1842–1909) |publisher=Adbonline.anu.edu.au |access-date=31 July 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20110223133356/http://adbonline.anu.edu.au/biogs/A050199b.htm?hilite=mary%3Bmackillop |archive-date=23 February 2011 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> Catholic schools flourished in Australia and by 1900 there were 115 Christian Brothers teaching in Australia. By 1910 there were 5000 [[religious sister]]s teaching in schools.<ref name="catholicaustralia.com.au"/>

[[Section 116 of the Australian Constitution]] of 1901 to some extent prevented the new federal parliament from interfering with [[Freedom of Religion|freedom of religion]] and ensured a [[separation of church and state]] throughout Australia. Australia's first Catholic cardinal, [[Patrick Francis Moran]] (1830–1911), had been a proponent of [[Australian Federation]] but in 1901 he refused to attend the inauguration ceremony of the Commonwealth of Australia because precedence was given to the Church of England. He was criticised in ''[[The Bulletin (Australian periodical)|The Bulletin]]'' for speaking against racist immigration laws and he alarmed Catholic conservatives by supporting [[Trade Unionism]] and the newly formed [[Australian Labor Party]].<ref name="adb.online.anu.edu.au">{{cite book|author=A. E. Cahill |chapter-url=https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/moran-patrick-francis-7648 |title=Biography – Patrick Francis Moran – Australian Dictionary of Biography | chapter=Moran, Patrick Francis (1830–1911) |publisher=Adb.online.anu.edu.au |date=16 August 1911 |access-date=31 July 2012}}</ref>

The Catholic Church was rooted in the working class Irish communities. Moran, the Archbishop of Sydney from 1884 to 1911, believed that Catholicism would flourish with the emergence of the new nation through Federation in 1901, provided that his people rejected "contamination" from foreign influences such as anarchism, socialism, modernism and secularism. Moran distinguished between European socialism as an atheistic movement and those Australians calling themselves "socialists"; he approved of the objectives of the latter while feeling that the European model was not a real danger in Australia. Moran's outlook reflected his wholehearted acceptance of Australian democracy and his belief in the country as different and freer than the old societies from which its people had come.<ref>A. E. Cahill, "Catholicism and Socialism: The 1905 Controversy in Australia", ''Journal of Religious History'', June 1960, Vol. 1, Issue 2, p88-101</ref> Moran thus welcomed the Labor Party and the Catholic Church stood with it in opposing conscription in the referendums of 1916 and 1917.<ref>Mark Hearn, "Containing 'Contamination': Cardinal Moran and Fin de Siècle Australian National Identity, 1888–1911", ''Journal of Religious History'', March 2010, Vol. 34 Issue 1, pp 20–35</ref> The hierarchy had close ties to Rome, which encouraged the bishops to support the British Empire and emphasize Marian piety.<ref>Patrick O'Farrell, ''The Catholic Church and community: an Australian history'' (1992)</ref>

===Between the wars===

Another Irish cleric, Archbishop [[Daniel Mannix]] (1864–1963) of Melbourne, was a outspoken voice against [[conscription]] during [[World War I]] and against British policy in Ireland. He was also a fervent critic of contraception and the [[Treaty of Versailles]], saying it would lead to a greater war than the one just ended.<ref name=adb>{{cite web |author=Griffin, James |title=Mannix, Daniel (1864–1963) |work=Australian Dictionary of Biography |publisher=National Centre of Biography, Australian National University |url=https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/mannix-daniel-7478/text13033 |access-date=24 April 2012 |year=1986 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140527221135/http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/mannix-daniel-7478/text13033 |archive-date=27 May 2014}}</ref><ref name="adbonline.anu.edu.au">{{cite book |last=Griffin |first=James |chapter-url=https://adbonline.anu.edu.au/biogs/A100391b.htm |title=Biography – Daniel Mannix – Australian Dictionary of Biography |chapter=Mannix, Daniel (1864–1963) |publisher=Adbonline.anu.edu.au |access-date=31 July 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20110607101457/http://adbonline.anu.edu.au/biogs/A100391b.htm |archive-date=7 June 2011 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> In the Melbourne St Patrick's day parade of 1920, Archbishop Mannix participated with fourteen Victoria Cross recipients.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2020 |title=An Illusion of Unity: Irish Australia, the Great War and the 1920 St Patrick's Day Parade |url=https://www.htav.asn.au/documents/item/3390}}</ref> Yet despite early 20th century sectarian feeling, Australia elected its first Catholic prime minister, [[James Scullin]], of the Australian Labor Party in 1929 – decades before the Protestant majority of the [[United States]] would elect [[John F. Kennedy]] as its first Catholic president.<ref name="primeministers.naa.gov.au">{{cite web |url=http://primeministers.naa.gov.au/primeministers/scullin/fast-facts.aspx |title=Fast facts – James Scullin – Fast facts – Australia's Prime Ministers |publisher=Primeministers.naa.gov.au |access-date=31 July 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120626022939/http://primeministers.naa.gov.au/primeministers/scullin/fast-facts.aspx |archive-date=26 June 2012 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> His successor, [[Joseph Lyons]], a devout Irish Catholic, split from Labor to form the fiscally conservative [[United Australia Party]] – predecessor to the modern [[Liberal Party of Australia]]. His wife, Dame [[Enid Lyons]], a Catholic convert, became the first female member of the [[Australian House of Representatives]] and later first female member of cabinet in the [[Menzies Government (1949-1966)|Menzies Government]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks15/1500721h/0-dict-biogL.html#lyons1 |title=Dictionary of Australian Biography L |publisher=Gutenberg.net.au |access-date=31 July 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150726233627/http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks15/1500721h/0-dict-biogL.html#lyons1 |archive-date=26 July 2015 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> With the place of Catholics in the British Empire still complicated by the recent [[Irish War of Independence]] and centuries of imperial rivalry with Catholic European nations, as prime minister, Lyons travelled to London in 1935 for the silver jubilee celebrations of [[King George V]] and faced anti-Catholic demonstrations in Edinburgh, then visited his ancestral homeland of Ireland and also had an audience with the Pope in Rome.<ref>Brian Carroll. ''[[From Barton to Fraser]]'', Cassell Australia, 1978.</ref>

The Australian congregation known as Our Lady's Nurses for the Poor<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ourladysnurses.org.au/about|title=About|website=Our Lady's Nurses For The Poor}}</ref> was founded by Melbourne-born mystic [[Eileen O'Connor]] and Fr [[Ted McGrath]] in a rented home at Coogee in 1913. A deeply religious youth, O'Connor had suffered a damaged spine when she was three years old and lived in a wheelchair with a painful disability. McGrath, the parish priest of Coogee, found accommodation for her widowed mother and family and was impressed by her courage. O'Connor told McGrath that she had experienced a visitation from the Virgin Mary, and McGrath shared with her his hope to establish a congregation of nurses to serve the poor. Eventually, a group of seven laywomen gathered around O'Connor and elected her as their first superior. Directed by the largely bed-ridden O'Connor, they visited the sick poor and nursed the frail aged. O'Connor died in 1921 of chronic tuberculosis of the spine and exhaustion. She was 28.<ref>[https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/oconnor-eily-rosaline-eileen-7875 O'Connor, Eily Rosaline (Eileen) (1892–1921)]; Australian Dictionary of Biography</ref> Initially a group of laywomen, Our Lady's Nurses for the Poor later formed themselves into a religious community of sisters under vows and their work continues in Sydney, Newcastle and Macquarie Fields. In 2018, Australia's bishops voted to initiate her cause for sainthood and the Holy See granted her the title [[Servant of God]].<ref>[https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/43636/mass-formally-opens-beatification-cause-of-eileen-oconnor-laywoman-and-mystic Mass formally opens beatification cause of Eileen O'Connor, laywoman and mystic]; CNAFeb 20, 2020</ref>

In October 1916, the Catholic Women's Social Guild (now Catholic Women's League) was formed in Fitzroy, Victoria, and [[Mary Glowrey]] became the inaugural president.<ref>Gervase McKinna, “Doctor-Sister Mary Glowrey: An Impossible Mission?” ''Melbourne University Mosaic: People and Places'' (Melbourne: The History Department, The University of Melbourne, 1998): 101. Cf. Ursula Clinton, ''Australian Medical Nun in India: Mary Glowrey M.D''. (Melbourne: Advocate Press, 1967), 11.</ref> Glowrey was one of the first women to study medicine at Melbourne University. She later went to India to become a missionary nun, founding the largest non-government healthcare system in that country. She was accorded the title Servant of God in 2013 and her cause for sainthood is underway.<ref>[https://www.catholicweekly.com.au/outstanding-lay-catholics-models-for-today-says-archbishop/ Outstanding lay Catholics models for today, says archbishop]; Catholic Weekly; Apr 2, 2021</ref>

The Australian Army Chaplains Department was promulgated in 1913, and 86 Catholic chaplains went on to serve in the army during World War One. As well as conducting church parades and religious services, chaplains organised activities to improve the morale and welfare of the troops. Fr John Fahey from Perth was the longest-serving front-line chaplain of the conflict. Assigned to the 11th battalion, he was the first chaplain ashore on Gallipoli, after disregarding orders to stay on the ship.<ref>[https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/encyclopedia/chaplains/first Chaplains, Australian Army, First World War]; Australian War Memorial</ref>

During the Second World War, the Australian-administered [[Territory of New Guinea]] was invaded by Japanese forces. Some 333 [[Martyrs of New Guinea]] are remembered from all denominations during WW2, including 197 Catholics.<ref>'The Martyrs of Papua New Guinea' by Theo Aerts (University of Papua New Guinea Press: 1994) Pages 36-7</ref> On [[Rabaul]], Australians and Europeans found refuge at the Vunapope Catholic Mission, until the Japanese overwhelmed the island and took them prisoner in 1942. The local Bishop Leo Scharmach, a Pole, convinced the Japanese that he was German and to spare the internees. A group of indigenous [[Marianist Sisters|Daughters of Mary Immaculate]] (FMI Sisters) then refused to give up their faith or abandon the Australians and are credited with keeping hundreds of internees alive for three and half years by growing food and delivering it to them over gruelling distances. Some of the Sisters were tortured by the Japanese and gave evidence during war crimes trials after the war.<ref>[https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/blog/artist-lisa-hilli-and-the-fmi-sisters 'It was a real labour of love']; Australian War Memorial</ref> Indigenous Rabaul man [[Peter To Rot]] found himself in charge of the mission at Rakunai after the internment of the Europeans. He took on their work of teaching the faith, presiding over baptisms, prayer and marriages and caring for the sick and POWs. When the Japanese outlawed these practises, he continued them in secret, was exposed by a collaborator and sent to a labour camp where he was executed. Pope John Paul II declared him a martyr in 1993 and beatified him in 1995.<ref>[https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/to-rot-peter-11873 To Rot, Peter (1912–1945)]; Australian Dictionary of Biography</ref> Pope Leo XIV canonised [[Peter To Rot]] in 2025.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-06-13 |title=Peter To Rot: A saint, fruit of a shared mission - Vatican News |url=https://www.vaticannews.va/en/church/news/2025-06/peter-to-rot-canonization-saint-papua-new-guinea.html |access-date=2026-03-27 |website=www.vaticannews.va |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-10-14 |title=Blessed Peter To Rot |url=https://brisbanecatholic.org.au/gods-people/blessed-peter-to-rot/ |access-date=2026-03-27 |website=Archdiocese of Brisbane |language=en-AU}}</ref>

===Post-war immigration: A more diverse church=== Until about 1950, the Catholic Church in Australia was overwhelmingly Irish in its ethos. Most Catholics were descendants of Irish immigrants and the church was mostly led by Irish-born priests and bishops.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://australiancatholichistoricalsociety.com.au/history-resources/irish-catholic-australians/ |title=Irish Catholic Australians |date=2020 |website=Australian Catholic Historical Society |publisher= |access-date=29 June 2021}}</ref> A number of rural areas had high proportions of Irish and a strongly Catholic culture.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Franklin |first1=James |date=2019 |title=Catholic rural virtue in Australia: ideal and reality |url=https://web.maths.unsw.edu.au/~jim/ruralvirtue.pdf |journal=Journal of the Australian Catholic Historical Society |volume=40 |pages=39–61 |access-date=30 June 2021}}</ref> From 1950 the ethnic composition of the church began to change, with the assimilation of Irish Australians and the arrival of Eastern European [[Displaced Persons]] from 1948<ref>J. Franklin, [http://www.maths.unsw.edu.au/~jim/calwellACHSconf09.pdf Calwell, Catholicism and the origins of multicultural Australia, Proc. of the Australian Catholic Historical Society 2009 Conference, 42–54].</ref> and more than one million Catholics from countries such as Italy, Malta, the Netherlands, Germany, Croatia and Hungary, and later Filipinos, Vietnamese, Lebanese and Poles around the 1980s. There are now also strong Chinese, Korean and Hispanic Catholic communities.<ref name="ABS1994"/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/46d1bc47ac9d0c7bca256c470025ff87/bfdda1ca506d6cfaca2570de0014496e!OpenDocument |title=1301.0 – Year Book Australia, 2006 |date=20 January 2006 |publisher=Abs.gov.au |access-date=31 July 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120805004841/http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/46d1bc47ac9d0c7bca256c470025ff87/bfdda1ca506d6cfaca2570de0014496e!OpenDocument |archive-date=5 August 2012 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

For a long time, Irish-Australians had a close political association with the Labor Party.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=O'Connell |first1=Declan |last2=Warhurst |first2=John |date=1982 |title=Church and class: (Irish-Australian Labour loyalties and the 1955 Split) |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23193797 |journal=Saothar |volume=8 |issue= |pages=46–57 |doi= |jstor=23193797 |access-date=30 June 2021}}</ref> The changing ethnic composition of Australian Catholicism and shifting political allegiances of Australian Catholics saw Catholic layman [[B. A. Santamaria]], the son of Italian immigrants, lead a movement of working class Catholics against [[Communism]] in Australia and the formation of his [[Democratic Labor Party (Australia, 1955)|Democratic Labor Party]] (DLP) in 1955. The DLP was formed over concerns of Communist influence over the trade unions and Labor Party. The movement was not approved by the [[Holy See|Vatican]], but it siphoned a proportion of the Catholic vote away from the Labor Party, contributing to the success of the newly formed Liberal Party of [[Robert Menzies]], which held power from 1949 to 1972, which, in return for DLP preferences, secured state aid for Catholic schools in Australia in 1963.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.themonthly.com.au/encounters-shane-maloney-daniel-mannix-ba-santamaria--1216 |title=Daniel Mannix & BA Santamaria | Shane Maloney |magazine=The Monthly |access-date=31 July 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121013191543/http://www.themonthly.com.au/encounters-shane-maloney-daniel-mannix-ba-santamaria--1216 |archive-date=13 October 2012 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> Along with a sharp decline in sectarianism in post-1960s Australia, sectarian loyalty to political parties has diminished and Catholics have been well represented within the conservative Liberal and [[National Party of Australia|National]] parties. [[Brendan Nelson]] became the first Catholic to lead the Liberal Party in 2007. Former prime minister Tony Abbott is a former [[seminarian]] who won the party leadership after defeating two other Catholic candidates for the post.<ref>Editors, "Oz's Abbott", ''The Tablet'', 5 November 2009, 21</ref> In 2008, [[Tim Fischer]], a Catholic and former deputy prime minister in the [[Howard government]], was nominated by the Labor prime minister, [[Kevin Rudd]], as the first resident Australian [[ambassador]] to the [[Holy See]] since 1973, when diplomatic relations with the Vatican and Australia were first established.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24049946-5017593,00.html |title=Tim Fischer announced ambassador to the Holy See |work=The Australian |author=Maiden, Samantha |date=21 July 2008 |access-date=1 September 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080922030436/http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24049946-5017593,00.html |archive-date=22 September 2008 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

=== Post Second Vatican Council === [[File:Pellsydney b.jpg|thumb|The Late Cardinal Pell in 2006]] Since the [[Second Vatican Council]] of the 1960s, the Australian church has experienced a decline in vocations to the religious life, leading to a [[priest shortage]]. On the other hand, lay leadership in education and other areas has expanded,<ref>{{cite journal |last=Franklin |first=James |author-link=James Franklin (philosopher) |date=2023 |title=Lay involvement in the Australian Catholic Church, 1924-2023 |url=https://web.maths.unsw.edu.au/~jim/laityacr.pdf |journal=Australasian Catholic Record |volume=100 |issue=4 |pages=445–460 |access-date=1 Jan 2024}}</ref> and about 20% of Australian school students attend a Catholic school.<ref name="ABS2011">{{cite web |url=http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Lookup/4221.0Main+Features202011?OpenDocument |publisher=Australian Bureau of Statistics |work=4221.0 – Schools, Australia, 2011 |title=Schools |date=21 March 2012 |access-date=31 March 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120420211150/http://www8.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Lookup/4221.0Main+Features202011?OpenDocument |archive-date=20 April 2012 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> While the numbers of nuns serving in Australian health facilities declined, the church maintained a strong presence in health care. The Sisters of Charity continued their mission among the sick, opening Australia's first [[HIV AIDS]] ward at St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney, in the 1980s.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sistersofcharity.org.au/yesterday/archives/ |format=downloadable Word document |title=Ministry to those living with HIV/AIDS |work=Web Archives |publisher=Sisters of Charity Australia |year=2010 |access-date=30 March 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120320161619/http://www.sistersofcharity.org.au/yesterday/archives/ |archive-date=20 March 2012 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> Declining vocations and increasing complexities in the health care technologies and management saw religious institutes like the Sisters of Charity and Sisters of Mercy amalgamating their efforts and divesting themselves of daily management of hospitals.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.svmhs.com.au/ |title=Welcome to St Vincents & Mater Health Sydney |publisher=St Vincent's and Mater Health Sydney |access-date=30 March 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120322022717/http://www.svmhs.com.au/ |archive-date=22 March 2012 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

Following Vatican II, new styles of ministry were tried by Australian religious. Some rose to national prominence. Fr [[Ted Kennedy (priest)|Ted Kennedy]] began one such ministry in Sydney's inner city [[Redfern, New South Wales|Redfern]] presbytery in 1971 – an area with a large Aboriginal population. Working closely with Catholic Aboriginal laywoman [[Mum (Shirl) Smith|"Mum" Shirl Smith]], he developed a theology which held that the poor had special insights into the meaning of Christianity, worked as an advocate for Aboriginal rights and often challenged the civil and church establishment on questions of conscience.<ref name="smh.com.au">{{cite news |url=http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2005/05/18/1116361614895.html?oneclick=true |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |title=Obituary: A father to the poor and dispossessed |date=19 May 2005 |author=Campion, Edmund |access-date=30 March 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121102092519/http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2005/05/18/1116361614895.html?oneclick=true |archive-date=2 November 2012 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> In 1989, Jesuit lawyer Fr [[Frank Brennan (Jesuit)|Frank Brennan]] founded [[Uniya]], a centre for social justice and human rights research, advocacy, education and networking. Uniya focused much of its attention on the plight of refugees, asylum seekers, and [[Reconciliation in Australia|Indigenous reconciliation]]. In 1991, Fr [[Chris Riley (priest)|Chris Riley]] formed [[Youth Off The Streets]], a community organisation working for young people who are "chronically homeless, drug dependent and recovering from abuse". Originally a food van in Sydney's [[Kings Cross, New South Wales|King's Cross]], it has grown to be one of the largest youth services in Australia, offering crisis accommodation, residential rehabilitation, clinical services and counselling, outreach programs, drug and alcohol rehabilitation, specialist Aboriginal services, education and family support.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/stories/s2453543.htm |title=Father Chris Riley |work=The Drum |publisher=ABC |location=Australia |access-date=30 March 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100205012732/http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/stories/s2453543.htm |archive-date=5 February 2010 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> Melbourne priest Father [[Bob Maguire]] began parish work in the 1960s, but became a youth media personality in 2004 with the beginning of a series of collaborations with irreverent satirist [[John Safran]] on [[SBS (Australian TV channel)|SBS TV]] and [[Triple J]] radio.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.abc.net.au/local/audio/2010/03/19/2850486.htm |title=Guestroom – Father Bob Maguire |first1=Leon |last1=Compton |first2=Miranda |last2=Tetlow |work=ABC News |location=Darwin, Australia |date=22 March 2010 |format=streaming audio |access-date=30 March 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120120080836/http://www.abc.net.au/local/audio/2010/03/19/2850486.htm |archive-date=20 January 2012 |df=dmy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/people/father_bob.htm |title=Father Bob Maguire presents Sunday Night Safran |access-date=30 March 2012 |work=Triple J |date=January 2008 |publisher=ABC |location=Australia |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120326032932/http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/people/father_bob.htm |archive-date=26 March 2012 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

The year 1970 saw the first visit to Australia by a Pope, [[Paul VI]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.catholicenquiry.com/history/the-journey-of-the-catholic-church-in-australia.html |title=The Journey of the Catholic Church in Australia |year=2009 |publisher=Catholic Enquiry Centre |access-date=30 March 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080422001749/http://www.catholicenquiry.com/history/the-journey-of-the-catholic-church-in-australia.html |archive-date=22 April 2008 |df=dmy }}</ref> Pope [[John Paul II]] was the next Pope to visit Australia in 1986. At [[Alice Springs]], the Pope made an historic address to indigenous Australians, in which he praised the enduring qualities of Aboriginal culture, lamented the effects of dispossession of and discrimination; called for acknowledgment of [[Aboriginal land rights]] and reconciliation in Australia; and said that the church in Australia would not reach its potential until Aboriginal people had made their "contribution to her life and until that contribution has been joyfully received by others".<ref>{{cite speech |url=https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/speeches/1986/november/documents/hf_jp-ii_spe_19861129_aborigeni-alice-springs-australia_en.html |location=Alice Springs, Australia |date=30 November 1986 |title=To the Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders in Blatherskite Park |last=Pope John Paul II |access-date=30 March 2012 |format=transcript |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140215050200/https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/speeches/1986/november/documents/hf_jp-ii_spe_19861129_aborigeni-alice-springs-australia_en.html |archive-date=15 February 2014 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

In 1988, the Archbishop of Sydney, Edward Bede Clancy was created a cardinal and during the [[Australian Bicentenary]] celebrations led the religious ceremonies for the opening of [[Parliament House, Canberra]]. Pope John Paul II visited Australia for the second time in 1995, to perform the [[Rite (Christianity)|rite]] of [[beatification]] for Mary MacKillop, founder of Australia's Josephite Sisters, before a crowd of 250,000.

From the late 1980s, [[Catholic Church sexual abuse cases in Australia|cases of abuse within the Catholic Church]] and other child care institutions began to be exposed in Australia. In 1996, the church issued a document, ''Towards Healing'', which it described as seeking to "establish a compassionate and just system for dealing with complaints of abuse".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.adelaide.catholic.org.au/sites/ProfessionalStandards/dealing-with-complaints-of-abuse/towards-healing |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722062507/http://www.adelaide.catholic.org.au/sites/ProfessionalStandards/dealing-with-complaints-of-abuse/towards-healing |archive-date=22 July 2011 |title=Towards Healing |work=Professional Standards Office |publisher=Australian Catholic Bishops Conference |year=1996 |access-date=30 March 2012 }}</ref> In 2001, an [[apostolic exhortation]] from Pope John Paul II condemned incidents of sex abuse in [[Oceania]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_jp-ii_exh_20011122_ecclesia-in-oceania_en.html |author=Pope John Paul II |work=Apostolic exhortation |publisher=Libreria Editrice Vaticana |title=Ecclesia in Oceania |location=Rome |date=22 November 2001 |access-date=30 March 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120423172207/https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_jp-ii_exh_20011122_ecclesia-in-oceania_en.html |archive-date=23 April 2012 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> Impetus for the ''Towards Healing'' protocols was in part led by Bishop [[Geoffrey James Robinson|Geoffrey Robinson]], who would later call for large scale systemic reform of the church globally in his 2007 book ''Confronting Power and Sex in the Catholic Church: Reclaiming the Spirit of Jesus''.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.abc.net.au/rn/religionreport/stories/2007/2017913.htm |title=Religion Report |work=ABC News |location=Australia |year=2007 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110910111709/http://www.abc.net.au/rn/religionreport/stories/2007/2017913.htm |archive-date=10 September 2011 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference did not endorse the book. [[Pat Power]], the [[Auxiliary Bishop]] of Canberra & Goulburn, wrote in 2002 that "the current crisis around sexual abuse is the greatest since the Reformation. At stake is the Church's moral authority, its credibility, its ability to interpret the 'signs of the times' and its capacity to confront the ensuing questions."{{Citation needed|date=November 2010}} [[Pope Benedict XVI]] officially apologised to victims during [[World Youth Day 2008]] in Sydney and celebrated a Mass with four victims of [[clerical sexual abuse]] in the chapel of [[St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney]], and listened to their stories.<ref>{{cite news |agency=AAP |url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/world-youth-day/pope-meets-abuse-victims/2008/07/21/1216492296448.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1 |first1=Paola |last1=Totaro |first2=Joel |last2=Gibson |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |title=Pope meets abuse victims |date=21 July 2008 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517032819/http://www.smh.com.au/news/world-youth-day/pope-meets-abuse-victims/2008/07/21/1216492296448.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1 |archive-date=17 May 2014 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

[[File:WYD-2008.JPG|thumb|Pope Benedict XVI arriving at [[Barangaroo, New South Wales|Barangaroo]], Sydney, for [[World Youth Day 2008]]|alt=]]

In 2001, in Rome, Pope John Paul II apologised to Aboriginal and other indigenous people in Oceania for past injustices by the church: "Aware of the shameful injustices done to indigenous peoples in Oceania, the Synod Fathers apologised unreservedly for the part played in these by members of the church, especially where children were forcibly separated from their families." Church leaders in Australia called on the Australian government to offer a similar apology.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.eniar.org/news/pope1.html |title=Pope's apology renews calls for PM to say sorry |date=24 November 2001 |access-date=30 March 2012 |publisher=European Network for Indigenous Australian Rights |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120319215730/http://www.eniar.org/news/pope1.html |archive-date=19 March 2012 |df=dmy }}</ref>

In 2001, [[George Pell]] became the eighth Archbishop of Sydney and, in 2003, became a cardinal. Pell supported Sydney's bid to host World Youth Day 2008. In July 2008, Sydney hosted the massive youth festival led by Pope Benedict XVI.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.smh.com.au/specials/worldyouthday2008/ |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |title=World Youth Day 2008 |year=2008 |access-date=30 March 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110831175354/http://www.smh.com.au/specials/worldyouthday2008/ |archive-date=31 August 2011 |df=dmy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/events/worldyouthday2008/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100224195701/http://www.abc.net.au/news/events/worldyouthday2008/ |archive-date=24 February 2010 |title=World Youth Day 2008 |work=ABC News |location=Australia |year=2008}}</ref> Around 500,000 welcomed the pope to Sydney and 270,000 watched the [[Stations of the Cross]]. More than 300,000 pilgrims camped out overnight in preparation for the final Mass,<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite news |url=http://news.smh.com.au/national/randwicks-turf-survives-wyd-20080721-3ins.html |title=Randwick's turf survives WYD |author=Bennett, Adam |date=21 July 2008 |access-date=30 March 2012 |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |agency=AAP |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140725104926/http://news.smh.com.au/national/randwicks-turf-survives-wyd-20080721-3ins.html |archive-date=25 July 2014 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> where final attendance was between 300,000 and 400,000 people.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSSYD22643320080720 |work=Reuters |title=Factbox: World Youth Day final Mass facts and figures |date=19 July 2008 |first=Michael |last=Perry |location=Sydney |access-date=20 July 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.catholic.org/wyd08/story.php?id=28655 |title=World Youth Day 2008 |work=Catholic Online |date=20 July 2008 |access-date=30 March 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120131175526/http://www.catholic.org/wyd08/story.php?id=28655 |archive-date=31 January 2012 |df=dmy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2008/s2310046.htm |title=World Youth Day a logistical success |work=7.30 Report |location=Australia |format=transcript |date=21 July 2008 |access-date=30 March 2012 |author=O'Neill, Sharon |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304032257/http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2008/s2310046.htm |archive-date=4 March 2016 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

In February 2010, Pope Benedict XVI announced that Mary MacKillop would be recognised as the first Australian [[saint]] of the Catholic Church.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/mary-mackillop-canonised/story-e6freuy9-1225812076838 |title=Joy for Saint Mary MacKillop |work=The Sunday Telegraph |location=Australia |date=19 December 2009 |access-date=30 March 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120524232425/http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/mary-mackillop-canonised/story-e6freuy9-1225812076838 |archive-date=24 May 2012 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> She was canonised on 17 October 2010 during a public ceremony in [[Saint Peter's Square|St Peter's Square]]. An estimated 8,000 Australians were present in the [[Vatican City]] to witness the ceremony.<ref name="ABC-Pilgrims">{{cite news |last=Alberici |first=Emma |title=Australians celebrate Mary's canonisation |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/10/18/3040655.htm |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121231052339/http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/10/18/3040655.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=31 December 2012 |work=ABC News |location=Australia |date=18 October 2010 |access-date=18 October 2010}}</ref> The [[Vatican Museum]] held an exhibition of [[Aboriginal art]] to honour the occasion titled "Rituals of Life".<ref name="Vat-Art">{{cite news |last=Alberici |first=Emma |title=First Australians celebrate first Australian saint |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/10/16/3040217.htm?section=justin |access-date=16 October 2010 |work=ABC News |location=Australia |date=15 October 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101019184735/http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/10/16/3040217.htm?section=justin |archive-date=19 October 2010 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> The exhibition contained 300 artefacts which were on display for the first time since 1925.<ref name="BPN-Rudd">{{cite web |title=Rudd leads delegation to Vatican |url=http://www.gg-art.com/news/read.php?newsid=61768 |work=Sky News |location=Australia |access-date=30 March 2012 |date=18 October 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160107084239/http://www.gg-art.com/news/read.php?newsid=61768 |archive-date=7 January 2016 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

In the late 20th and early 21st century, Catholicism in Australia has been growing numerically, while remaining relatively stable as a proportion of the population and facing a long-term decline in numbers of people following vocations to the religious life. In 2016, the Catholic education sector ran 1,738 schools, accounting for some 20.2% of Australian school students.<ref name="ABS2011"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/4221.0|title=Census: Schools, Australia, 2016|publisher=[[Australian Bureau of Statistics]]|access-date=21 March 2018|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170727000631/http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/4221.0|archive-date=27 July 2017|df=dmy-all}}</ref> There were also two Catholic universities – [[University of Notre Dame Australia]] and the [[Australian Catholic University]]. [[Catholic Social Services Australia]], the church's peak national body for social services, had 52 member organisations providing services to hundreds of thousands of people each year.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cssa.org.au/about-us/|title=About Us — Catholic Social Services Australia|website=www.cssa.org.au|access-date=21 March 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180314031952/http://www.cssa.org.au/about-us/|archive-date=14 March 2018|df=dmy-all}}</ref> [[Catholic Health Australia]] was the largest non-government provider grouping of health, community, and aged care services.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cha.org.au/about|title=Catholic Health Australia: The Sector|access-date=21 March 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180310092422/https://cha.org.au/about|archive-date=10 March 2018|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

The church was among the secular and religious institutions examined at the 2013-2017 [[Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse]], which reported that abuse cases by Catholic personnel had peaked in the 1970s, with around 4400 cases and alleged cases over the 6 decades prior to the inquiry. In 2017, there were 5.5 million Australian Catholics.<ref>[http://childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/getattachment/e352891e-2cb8-4abf-96b9-4449296c470b/Analysis-of-claims-of-child-sexual-abuse-made-with Royal Commission: ANALYSIS OF CLAIMS OF CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE MADE WITH RESPECT TO CATHOLIC CHURCH INSTITUTIONS IN AUSTRALIA] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170731111106/http://childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/getattachment/e352891e-2cb8-4abf-96b9-4449296c470b/Analysis-of-claims-of-child-sexual-abuse-made-with |date=31 July 2017 }}; June 2017</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-02-06/child-sex-abuse-royal-commission:-data-reveals-catholic-abuse/8243890|title=Worst Catholic groups for child sex abuse claims in Australia revealed|date=6 February 2017|newspaper=ABC News|access-date=14 February 2017|language=en-AU|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170214091022/http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-02-06/child-sex-abuse-royal-commission:-data-reveals-catholic-abuse/8243890|archive-date=14 February 2017|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3453405-Proportion-of-priests-and-non-ordained-religious.html|title=Proportion of priests and non-ordained religious subject to a claim...|author=ABC News Australian Broadcasting Corporation|website=www.documentcloud.org|language=en|access-date=14 February 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170206184936/https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3453405-Proportion-of-priests-and-non-ordained-religious.html|archive-date=6 February 2017|df=dmy-all}}</ref> [[Gerard Henderson]] stated that statistics presented to the Royal Commission indicated that children were safer in a Catholic religious institution in Australia during the years studied than in any other religious institution (state institutions were not studied, so a statistical comparison could not be made).<ref>Gerard Henderson; Media Watch Dog; 18 October 2019| url: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/media-watch-dog-abcs-right-royal-opinion-on-meghan-markle-and-the-royals/news-story/ed6296d0f7da8302ec1235205a008317| quote: ...according to evidence presented to the Royal Commission Into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, in the period of the 1930s to the 1980s — on a per capita basis — a child was safer in a Catholic religious institution than in a non-Catholic religious institution. There are no equivalent statistics for non-religious institutions.</ref>

==Social and political engagement== [[File:St Vincent De Paul Society Wagga.jpg|thumb|right|[[St Vincent de Paul Society]] Opportunity shop in [[Wagga Wagga, New South Wales]].]]

===Introduction=== Catholic people and charitable organisations, hospitals and schools have played a prominent role in welfare and education in Australia ever since colonial times<ref>{{cite web |url=https://australiancatholichistoricalsociety.com.au/history-resources/australian-catholic-charities/ |title=Australian Catholic Charities |date=2020 |website=Australian Catholic Historical Society |publisher= |access-date=29 June 2021}}</ref> when Catholic [[laywoman]] [[Caroline Chisholm]] helped single, migrant women and rescued homeless girls in Sydney.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/National/Chisholms-supporters-push-for-sainthood/2007/10/24/1192941112318.html |location=Australia |work=The Age |title=Chisholm's supporters push for sainthood |date=24 October 2007 |agency=AAP |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160115073518/http://www.theage.com.au/news/National/Chisholms-supporters-push-for-sainthood/2007/10/24/1192941112318.html |archive-date=15 January 2016 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> In his welcoming address to the Catholic World Youth Day 2008 in Sydney, the prime minister, [[Kevin Rudd]], said that Christianity had been a positive influence on Australia: "It was the church that began first schools for the poor, it was the church that began first hospitals for the poor, it was the church that began first refuges for the poor and these great traditions continue for the future".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/world-youth-day/150000-celebrate-at-nations-biggest-mass/2008/07/15/1215887621840.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap2 |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |title=Opening Mass underway |date=15 July 2008 |agency=AAP |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517032821/http://www.smh.com.au/news/world-youth-day/150000-celebrate-at-nations-biggest-mass/2008/07/15/1215887621840.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap2 |archive-date=17 May 2014 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

===Welfare===

A number of Catholic organisations are providers of [[social welfare]] services (including [[Elderly care|residential aged care]] and the [[Job Network]]) and [[education in Australia]]. Australia-wide these include: [[Centacare]], [[CatholicCare]] [[Caritas Australia]], [[Jesuit Refugee Service]], [[St Vincent de Paul Society]], [[Youth Off The Streets]]. Two religious institutes founded in Australia which engaged in welfare and charity work are the [[Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart]] and the [[Sisters of the Good Samaritan]].<ref name="catholicaustralia.com.au"/> Many international Catholic religious institutes also work in welfare, such as the [[Little Sisters of the Poor]] who work in aged care. [[Catholic Social Services Australia]] is the peak body for Catholic welfare agencies and has 54 member organisations in metropolitan, regional and remote Australia.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.cssa.org.au/about-us/members/ | title = Our member organisations | access-date = 2 October 2016 | url-status = live | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20161002194001/http://www.cssa.org.au/about-us/members/ | archive-date = 2 October 2016 | df = dmy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|author=D.J. Gleeson|title=Some themes in Australian Catholic social welfare history|journal=Journal of the Australian Catholic Historical Society|volume=28|date=2007|pages=7–17}}</ref> Members include diocesan-based [[Centacare]] and [[CatholicCare]] agencies and those under the stewardship of religious orders.

===Health=== [[File:Stvincentshospital1900s.jpg|thumb|[[St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney]], in the 1900s.|alt=]]

[[Catholic Health Australia]] is the largest non-government provider grouping of health, community and aged care services in Australia. These do not operate for profit and range across the full spectrum of health services, representing about 10% of the health sector and employing 35,000 people.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cha.org.au/site.php?id=24|title=Nation must respond to looming dementia crisis|first=Gavin|last=Abraham|access-date=13 March 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170905093141/http://www.cha.org.au/site.php?id=24|archive-date=5 September 2017|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

Religious institutes founded many of Australia's hospitals. Irish [[Sisters of Charity of Australia|Sisters of Charity]] arrived in Sydney in 1838 and established [[St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney]], in 1857 as a free hospital for the poor. The Sisters went on to found hospitals, hospices, research institutes and aged care facilities in Victoria, Queensland and Tasmania.<ref>{{cite web |title=Sisters of Charity |publisher=St. Vincent's Health Australia |url=http://national.stvincents.com.au/history.php |access-date=31 July 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100402062826/http://national.stvincents.com.au/history.php |archive-date=2 April 2010}}</ref> At St Vincent's they trained leading surgeon [[Victor Chang]] and opened Australia's first [[AIDS]] clinic.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://exwwwsvh.stvincents.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=132&Itemid=160 |title=St Vincent's Hospital, history and tradition, sesquicentenary – sth.stvincents.com.au |publisher=Exwwwsvh.stvincents.com.au |access-date=31 July 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120321142552/https://exwwwsvh.stvincents.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=132&Itemid=160 |archive-date=21 March 2012 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> In the 21st century, with more and more lay people involved in management, the sisters began collaborating with [[Sisters of Mercy]] Hospitals in Melbourne and Sydney. Jointly the group operates four public hospitals, seven private hospitals and 10 aged care facilities.

The English [[Sisters of the Little Company of Mary]] arrived in Australia in 1885 and went on to establish hospitals and other health services in several states and territories. Their health, aged care and community ministries in Australia are now administered through [[Little Company of Mary Health Care (Australia)|Little Company of Mary Health Care]], which operates nationally under the trading name Calvary Health Care, a charitable not-for-profit provider of hospitals, residential aged care, retirement living and community care services.<ref name="LCMAbout">"History and heritage". Calvary Health Care. Retrieved 2025-01-10.</ref>

The [[Little Sisters of the Poor]], who follow the [[charism]] of [[Jeanne Jugan|Saint Jeanne Jugan]] to "offer hospitality to the needy aged", arrived in Melbourne in 1884 and now operate four aged care homes in Australia.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.littlesistersofthepoor.org.au/ |title=Little Sisters of the Poor Oceania |access-date=31 July 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120428223349/http://www.littlesistersofthepoor.org.au/ |archive-date=28 April 2012 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

In 1895, Perth's Bishop [[Matthew Gibney]] sent a request for help to the Sisters of St John of God in [[Wexford, Ireland]] to care for people suffering from [[typhoid fever]] during the [[Western Australian gold rushes|1890s gold rush]]. They established a hospital in [[Kalgoorlie]] in the late 1890s, followed shortly by [[St John of God Subiaco Hospital|another]] in the Perth suburb of [[Subiaco, Western Australia|Subiaco]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=The pioneering Sisters |url=http://www.sjog.org.au/news-and-media-1/news/2016/12/07/12/28/the-pioneering-sisters |access-date=2022-10-21 |website=www.sjog.org.au |language=en}}</ref> These services developed into [[St John of God Health Care]], which now operates 24 hospitals and facilities across [[Western Australia]], [[New South Wales]], [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]], and [[New Zealand]].

===Education=== {{Main|Catholic education in Australia}}

[[File:SICRObservatory.JPG|thumb|The historic observatory at [[Saint Ignatius' College, Riverview]] was founded by the distinguished Jesuit scientist [[Edward Francis Pigot]] in 1908.<ref>{{cite book |author=L. A. Drake |chapter-url=https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/pigot-edward-francis-8048 |title=Biography – Edward Francis Pigot – Australian Dictionary of Biography |chapter=Pigot, Edward Francis (1858–1929) |publisher=Adb.anu.edu.au |access-date=31 July 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20120801000218/http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/pigot-edward-francis-8048 |archive-date=1 August 2012 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>]]

By 1833, there were around ten Catholic schools in the Australian colonies.<ref name="catholicaustralia.com.au"/> Today one in five Australian students attend Catholic schools.<ref name="ABS2011"/> There are over 1700 Catholic schools in Australia with more than 750,000 students enrolled, employing almost 60,000 teachers.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ag.gov.au/Consultations/Documents/modern-slavery-in-supply-chains-reporting-requirement/Australian-catholic-bishops-conference.docx|title=Modern Slavery in Supply Chains Reporting Requirement|author=Australian Catholic Bishops Conference|access-date=21 March 2018|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180321100052/https://www.ag.gov.au/Consultations/Documents/modern-slavery-in-supply-chains-reporting-requirement/Australian-catholic-bishops-conference.docx|archive-date=21 March 2018|df=dmy-all}}</ref> Mary MacKillop was a 19th-century Australian [[Religious sister (Catholic)|religious sister]] who founded an educational religious institute, the [[Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.marymackillop.org.au/marys-story/beginnings.cfm?loadref=2 |title=Beginnings | Saint Mary MacKillop |publisher=Marymackillop.org.au |access-date=31 July 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100323055450/http://www.marymackillop.org.au/marys-story/beginnings.cfm?loadref=2 |archive-date=23 March 2010 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> Other Catholic religious institutes involved in education in Australia have included: [[Sisters of Mercy]], [[Marist Brothers]], Christian Brothers, [[Loreto Sisters]], [[Sisters of the Good Samaritan|Benedictine Sisters]] and [[Jesuits]].

As with other classes of non-government schools in Australia, Catholic schools receive funding from the Commonwealth Government.<ref>[http://www.iheu.org/the-purple-economy-supernatural-charities-tax-and-the-state The Purple Economy] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117202810/http://iheu.org/the-purple-economy-supernatural-charities-tax-and-the-state |date=17 January 2013 }} by Max Wallace</ref> Church schools range from elite, high cost schools (which generally offer extensive bursary programs for low-income students) to low-fee local schools. Notable schools include the Jesuit colleges of [[St Aloysius' College (Sydney)|St Aloysius]] and [[Saint Ignatius' College, Riverview]] in Sydney, [[Saint Ignatius' College, Adelaide]] and [[Xavier College]] in Melbourne; the [[Marist Brothers]] [[St Joseph's College, Hunters Hill]], the [[Christian Brothers' High School, Lewisham]], the [[Society of the Sacred Heart]]'s [[Kincoppal School|Rosebay Kincoppal School]], the [[Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary]]'s [[Loreto Kirribilli]], the [[Sisters of Mercy]]'s [[Monte Sant' Angelo Mercy College]], the Christian Brothers' [[St Edmund's College, Canberra]] and [[Aquinas College, Perth]] – however, the list and range of Catholic primary and secondary schools in Australia is long and diverse and extends throughout metropolitan, regional and remote Australia: see [[:Category:Catholic schools in Australia|Catholic Schools in Australia]]

The [[Australian Catholic University]] opened in 1991 following the amalgamation of four Catholic tertiary institutions in eastern Australia. These institutions had their origins in the 1800s, when religious institutes became involved in preparing teachers for Catholic schools and nurses for Catholic hospitals.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.acu.edu.au/about_acu/the_university/our_history/ |title=Our History – ACU (Australian Catholic University) |publisher=ACU |date=1 January 1991 |access-date=31 July 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120324184852/http://www.acu.edu.au/about_acu/the_university/our_history/ |archive-date=24 March 2012 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> The [[University of Notre Dame Australia]] opened in Western Australia in December 1989 and now has over 9,000 students on three campuses in Fremantle, Sydney and Broome.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nd.edu.au/university/index.shtml |title=Notre Dame University Australia – About |date=6 July 2011 |access-date=31 July 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120321053429/http://www.nd.edu.au/university/index.shtml |archive-date=21 March 2012 }}</ref>

===Politics=== [[File:Daniel Mannix b.jpg|thumb|[[Archbishop]] [[Daniel Mannix]] of Melbourne was a controversial voice against [[conscription]] during [[World War I]] and against British policy in Ireland.]]

Church leaders have often involved themselves in political issues in areas they consider relevant to Christian teachings. In early Colonial times, Catholicism was restricted but [[Church of England]] clergy worked closely with the governors.<ref>{{cite book |author=A. T. Yarwood |chapter-url=https://adbonline.anu.edu.au/biogs/A020176b.htm |title=Biography – Samuel Marsden – Australian Dictionary of Biography |chapter=Marsden, Samuel (1765–1838) |publisher=Adbonline.anu.edu.au |access-date=31 July 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110408202056/http://adbonline.anu.edu.au/biogs/A020176b.htm |archive-date=8 April 2011 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> Early Catholic missionary [[William Bernard Ullathorne|William Ullathorne]] criticised the convict system, publishing a pamphlet, ''The Horrors of Transportation Briefly Unfolded to the People'', in Britain in 1837.<ref>{{cite book |author=T. L. Suttor |chapter-url=https://adbonline.anu.edu.au/biogs/A020497b.htm |title=Biography – William Bernard Ullathorne – Australian Dictionary of Biography |chapter=Ullathorne, William Bernard (1806–1889) |publisher=Adbonline.anu.edu.au |access-date=31 July 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20110628215754/https://adbonline.anu.edu.au/biogs/A020497b.htm |archive-date=28 June 2011 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> Sydney's first archbishop, [[John Bede Polding]], was influential in the preparation of the Australian bishops' pastoral letter on Aboriginal People in 1869 which advocated for Aboriginal rights and dignity.<ref>{{cite report |author=Dominic O'Sullivan |title=The Roman Catholic Church and Indigenous Land Rights in Australia and New Zealand |publisher=Department of Political Science and Public Policy, University of Waikato |url=http://apsa2000.anu.edu.au/confpapers/osullivan.rtf |access-date=14 July 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130519072722/http://apsa2000.anu.edu.au/confpapers/osullivan.rtf |archive-date=19 May 2013 |df=dmy }}</ref>

Australia's first Catholic [[Cardinal (Catholicism)|cardinal]], [[Patrick Francis Moran]] (1830–1911), was politically active. He was a proponent of [[Australian Federation]]; he denounced anti-Chinese legislation as "unchristian" and opposed [[antisemitism]]. He became an advocate for [[women's suffrage]] and he stood for election to the [[Australasian Federal Convention]] in 1897, but in 1901 he refused to attend the inauguration of the Commonwealth of Australia because precedence was given to the Church of England. He alarmed conservatives by supporting [[trade unionism]] and "Australian socialism".<ref name="adb.online.anu.edu.au"/> Archbishop [[Daniel Mannix]] of Melbourne was a controversial voice against [[conscription]] during [[World War I]] and against British policy in Ireland.<ref name="adbonline.anu.edu.au"/>

[[Mum (Shirl) Smith]], a celebrated [[Redfern, New South Wales|Redfern]] community worker, assisted by the [[Sisters of Charity of Australia|Sisters of Charity]], worked in the courts and organised prison visitations, medical and social assistance for Aboriginal People.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/barani/themes/theme8.htm |title=Aboriginal Involvement with the Church |publisher=Cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au |access-date=31 July 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020422012320/http://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/barani/themes/theme8.htm |archive-date=22 April 2002 |df=dmy }}</ref> Fr Ted Kennedy of Redfern<ref name="smh.com.au"/> and Fr Frank Brennan, a Jesuit, have been high-profile Catholic priests engaged in the cause of Aboriginal rights.<ref>{{cite book |last=Jones |first=Philip |chapter-url=https://adbonline.anu.edu.au/biogs/A120339b.htm?hilite=david%3Bunaipon |title=Biography – David Unaipon – Australian Dictionary of Biography |chapter=Unaipon, David (1872–1967) |publisher=Adbonline.anu.edu.au |access-date=31 July 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20120130104234/http://adbonline.anu.edu.au/biogs/A120339b.htm?hilite=david%3Bunaipon |archive-date=30 January 2012 |df=dmy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.curriculum.edu.au/cce/nicholls,9156.html |title=Civics | Sir Douglas Nicholls |publisher=Curriculum.edu.au |date=14 June 2005 |access-date=31 July 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160603193437/http://www.curriculum.edu.au/cce/nicholls%2C9156.html |archive-date=3 June 2016 |df=dmy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://152.91.15.57/www/nhrcc/nhrcc.nsf/Page/Who_FatherFrankBrennanAO-Chair |title=Father Frank Brennan AO – Chair |publisher=152.91.15.57 |access-date=31 July 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120306051934/http://152.91.15.57/www/nhrcc/nhrcc.nsf/Page/Who_FatherFrankBrennanAO-Chair |archive-date=6 March 2012 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

In 1999, Cardinal [[Edward Bede Clancy]] wrote to the then prime minister, [[John Howard]], urging him to send an armed peacekeeping force to [[East Timor]] to end the violence engulfing that country.<ref>{{cite news|title=East Timor: Cardinal says international response needed immediately|url=http://cathnews.acu.edu.au/909/17.html|access-date=13 March 2017|work=[[Catholic News]]|date=7 September 1999|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110311111526/http://cathnews.acu.edu.au/909/17.html|archive-date=11 March 2011|df=dmy-all}}</ref> In 2006, an Australian Greens senator, [[Kerry Nettle]], called on the health minister, [[Tony Abbott]], to refrain from debating the abortion drug [[RU486]] because he was [[Catholic]].<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/ill-wear-ovaries-tshirt-again-nettle/2006/02/10/1139465826319.html | work=The Sydney Morning Herald | title=I'll wear ovaries T-shirt again: Nettle | date=10 February 2006 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081015053707/http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/ill-wear-ovaries-tshirt-again-nettle/2006/02/10/1139465826319.html | archive-date=15 October 2008 | df=dmy-all }}</ref> Cardinal [[George Pell]] concerned himself publicly with traditional issues of Christian doctrine, such as supporting [[marriage]] and opposing [[abortion]], but also raised questions about government policies such as the [[Work Choices]] industrial relations reforms and the [[Mandatory detention in Australia|mandatory detention]] of [[asylum seekers]].<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/churches-against-changes/2005/10/10/1128796469488.html?from=moreStories | location=Melbourne | work=The Age | first=Linda | last=Morris | title=Churches against changes | date=11 October 2005 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121104225639/http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/churches-against-changes/2005/10/10/1128796469488.html?from=moreStories | archive-date=4 November 2012 | df=dmy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/stories/s468643.htm |work=Lateline |title=Labor rethinks detention stance |date=28 January 2002 |access-date=30 March 2012 |format=transcript |publisher=ABC TV |location=Australia |author=Jones, Tony |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160731041327/http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/stories/s468643.htm |archive-date=31 July 2016 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

[[File:Roma Mitchell 1965.jpg|thumb|upright|Dame [[Roma Mitchell]].]]

; Australian Catholic politicians

Australia elected its first Catholic prime minister, [[James Scullin]] of the [[Australian Labor Party]] in 1929.<ref name="primeministers.naa.gov.au"/> He was succeeded by [[Joseph Lyons]] of the [[United Australia Party]] who was prime minister from 1932 to 1939, and remains Australia's longest serving Catholic prime minister. The first woman elected to the [[House of Representatives (Australia)|House of Representatives]] was his wife, [[Enid Lyons]] ([[United Australia Party]]), who was a Catholic convert.<ref>[https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/lyons-dame-enid-muriel-14392 Lyons, Dame Enid Muriel (1897–1981)]; adb.anu.edu.au</ref> Australian Catholic women have achieved a number of significant milestones in the history of Australian politics. The first woman to be elected as leader of a state or territory was Catholic [[Rosemary Follett]], who won the first ACT election in 1989.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.womenaustralia.info/leaders/biogs/WLE0497b.htm|title=Follett, Rosemary - Woman - The Encyclopedia of Women and Leadership in Twentieth-Century Australia|first=The University of|last=Melbourne|website=www.womenaustralia.info}}</ref> The first woman [[Premier of NSW]] was Labor's [[Kristina Keneally]], a Catholic with a master's degree in Catholic systemic theology.<ref>Greg Sheridan; God is Good for You, Allen & Unwin, 2018, p.201-205.</ref> Dame [[Roma Mitchell]], a devout Catholic, served as [[Governor of South Australia]] from 1991 to 1996, the first woman to be appointed governor of an Australian state. Dame Roma had also been a Supreme Court Judge, University Chancellor, Human Rights campaigner and advocate for Aboriginal people. Following her death, the ABC reported "Those who were close to Dame Roma Mitchell say her deep Catholic faith guided every aspect of her life, giving her the strength and ambition to campaign for social change and her philosophy of generosity and kindness".<ref>[https://www.abc.net.au/pm/stories/s109516.htm South Australians mourn Dame Roma Mitchell]; abc.net.au; 10 March 2000</ref>

The [[Australian Labor Party]] had largely been supported by Catholics until layman [[B. A. Santamaria]] formed the [[Democratic Labor Party (Australia, 1955)|Democratic Labor Party]] over concerns of [[Communist]] influence over the trade union movement in the 1950s.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.smh.com.au/national/the-voluble-and-the-word-amen-to-that-20091009-gque.html | work=The Sydney Morning Herald | title=The voluble and the Word: amen to that | date=10 October 2009 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303165949/http://www.smh.com.au/national/the-voluble-and-the-word-amen-to-that-20091009-gque.html | archive-date=3 March 2016 | df=dmy-all }}</ref> The war-time prime minister, John Curtin (Labor), was raised Catholic. [[Ben Chifley]] (Labor) also served as prime minister from 1945 to 1949. In more recent decades, Catholics have led all major parties and served as Prime Ministers and Opposition leader. Labor prime ministers [[Paul Keating]] (1991–1996) and [[Kevin Rudd]] (2007–2010, 2013) were both raised Catholic (though Rudd now identifies as an Anglican). [[Tim Fischer]] was [[Deputy Prime Minister of Australia|Deputy Prime Minister]] and leader of the [[National Party of Australia|National Party]] between 1996 and 1999, was a practising Catholic and later served as the Australian Ambassador to the [[Holy See]] between 2008 and 2012.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sydneycatholic.org/news/latest_news/2012/2012120_619.shtml |publisher=Catholic Communications, Sydney Archdiocese |title=Arrivederci Rome. Welcome Home Tim Fischer |date=20 January 2012 |access-date=1 February 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140319065622/http://www.sydneycatholic.org/news/latest_news/2012/2012120_619.shtml |archive-date=19 March 2014 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

The three [[Liberal Party of Australia|Liberal Party]] Leaders of the Opposition between 2007 and 2013 - [[Brendan Nelson]], [[Malcolm Turnbull]] and [[Tony Abbott]] - were all Catholics. Abbott brought the Party to office [[Abbott government|in 2013]] and was succeeded by Turnbull as Prime Minister in 2015. As the connection of the conservative parties to Catholicism has increased in recent decades, so the formerly strong connection between Labor and Catholicism has waned. Nevertheless, since losing office in 2013, the Labor Party has been led by Jesuit educated [[Bill Shorten]] and the current Prime Minister [[Anthony Albanese]], who describes himself as a "cultural Catholic".<ref>[https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/albanese-courts-christian-groups-in-social-justice-pitch-20210221-p574e8.html Albanese courts Christian groups in social justice pitch]; smh.com.au; Feb 21, 2021</ref> Shorten, now an Anglican, wrote in his book ''The Common Good'', that he is grateful for his Jesuit education and takes inspiration from the invocation of the Jesuit [[Pedro Arrupe]] to be "men for others".<ref>Greg Sheridan; God is Good for You, Allen & Unwin, 2018, p.173.</ref> Politicians including Prime Minister Tony Abbott, and NSW Premier [[John Fahey (politician)|John Fahey]] studied for the priesthood before politics. [[Michael Tate]] served as a minister in the Labor [[Hawke government]] and then, after politics, became a Catholic priest.<ref>Greg Sheridan; God is Good for You, Allen & Unwin, 2018, p.185.</ref>

===Architecture===

Most towns in Australia have at least one Christian church. [[St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney]], follows a conventional English cathedral plan, cruciform in shape, with a tower over the crossing of the nave and transepts and twin towers at the west front with impressive stained glass windows. With a length of {{convert|106.7|m}} and a general width of {{convert|24.4|m}}, it is Sydney's largest church. Built to a design by [[William Wardell]] from a foundation stone laid in 1868, the spires of the cathedral were not finally added until the year 2000. Wardell also worked on the design of St Patrick's Cathedral, Melbourne – among the finest examples of [[ecclesiastical architecture]] in Australia.<ref>{{cite book |author=McDonald, D. I. |title=Wardell, William Wilkinson (1823–1899) |chapter=William Wilkinson Wardell (1823–1899) |series=Australian Dictionary of Biography |publisher=National Centre of Biography, Australian National University |url=https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/wardell-william-wilkinson-4802/text8003 |access-date=1 April 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20120402094451/http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/wardell-william-wilkinson-4802/text8003 |archive-date=2 April 2012 |df=dmy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.stpatrickscathedral.org.au/about-the-cathedral/the-cathedral.html |title=The Cathedral |publisher=Catholic Communications Melbourne |access-date=1 April 2012 |work=Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne: Saint Patrick's Cathedral |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120327145610/http://www.stpatrickscathedral.org.au/about-the-cathedral/the-cathedral.html |archive-date=27 March 2012 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> Wardell's overall design was in Gothic Revival style, paying tribute to the mediaeval cathedrals of Europe. Largely constructed between 1858 and 1897, the nave was Early English in style, while the remainder of the building is in Decorated Gothic.

Adelaide, the capital of [[South Australia]], has long been known as the ''City of Churches''. North of Adelaide {{Convert|130|km}} is the Jesuit old stone winery and cellars at [[Sevenhill, South Australia|Sevenhill]], founded by Austrian Jesuits in 1848.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sevenhill.com.au/about_sevenhill.php |title=About Sevenhill |access-date=1 April 2012 |publisher=Sevenhill Cellars |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150227211032/https://www.sevenhill.com.au/about_sevenhill.php |archive-date=27 February 2015 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> A rare Australian example of Spanish missionary style exists at [[New Norcia, Western Australia]], founded by Spanish [[Benedictine]] monks in 1846.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.discoverwest.com.au/western_australia/new_norcia.html |title=New Norcia Tourism North West Region Western Australia |publisher=Discover West Holidays |year=2010 |access-date=1 April 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130314224505/http://www.discoverwest.com.au/western_australia/new_norcia.html |archive-date=14 March 2013 |df=dmy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.newnorcia.wa.edu.au/monastery |title=he Monastery |publisher=New Norcia Benedictine Community |year=2011 |access-date=1 April 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160425051114/http://www.newnorcia.wa.edu.au/monastery |archive-date=25 April 2016 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> A number of notable [[Victorian Architecture|Victorian]] era chapels and edifices were also constructed at church schools across Australia.

Along with community attitudes to religion, church architecture changed significantly during the 20th century. St Monica's Cathedral in [[Cairns]] was designed by architect Ian Ferrier and built in 1967–68 following the form of the original [[basilica]] model of the early churches of Rome, adapted to a tropical climate and to reflect the changes to [[Catholic liturgy]] mandated at Vatican II. The cathedral was dedicated as a memorial to the [[Battle of the Coral Sea]] which was fought east of Cairns in May 1942. The "Peace Window" stained glass was installed on the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nationaltrustqld.org/appeals.htm |title=Conservation Appeals |publisher=National Trust Queensland |access-date=1 April 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120320195410/https://www.nationaltrustqld.org/appeals.htm |archive-date=20 March 2012 |df=dmy }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=http://www.qldheritage.org.au/assets/files/pdf/using-the-criteria.pdf |title=Using the criteria: a methodology |publisher=Queensland Government: Queensland Heritage Council |page=6 |year=2006 |access-date=1 April 2012 |isbn=0-9775641-0-X |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130410060209/http://qldheritage.org.au/assets/files/pdf/using-the-criteria.pdf |archive-date=10 April 2013 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> In the later 20th century, distinctly Australian approaches were applied at places such as [[Jamberoo, New South Wales|Jamberoo]] Benedictine Abbey, where natural materials were chosen to "harmonise with the local environment" and the chapel sanctuary is of glass overlooking rainforest.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.jamberooabbey.org.au/html/tours/church.htm |title=The Church |publisher=Jamberoo Abbey, Benedictine Nuns |year=2007 |access-date=1 April 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120320001444/http://jamberooabbey.org.au/html/tours/church.htm |archive-date=20 March 2012 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> Similar design principles were applied at [[Thredbo, New South Wales|Thredbo]] [[Ecumenical]] Chapel built in the [[Snowy Mountains]] in 1996.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thredboweddings.com/weddings_services/church.htm |title=Thredbo Weddings |publisher=Thredbo Ecumenical Chapel |access-date=1 April 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160508090657/http://www.thredboweddings.com/weddings_services/church.htm |archive-date=8 May 2016 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

<gallery> File:StMarysCathedral b.jpg|[[St Mary's Cathedral, Perth]] File:New norcia gnangarra 1.jpg|[[New Norcia, Western Australia]] File:StPatrick 9801.jpg|[[St Patrick's Cathedral, Melbourne]] File:Main Building, St Ignatius College Riverview.jpg|[[Saint Ignatius' College, Riverview]] File:Sfxcathedral2006.jpg|[[St Francis Xavier's Cathedral, Adelaide]] File:St Stephens nave looking east.JPG|[[The Cathedral of St Stephen, Brisbane]] File:St Christophers Cathedral.JPG|[[St Christopher's Cathedral, Canberra]] File:Mary Mackillop Memorial Chapel.jpg|Mary MacKillop Chapel, in [[North Sydney, New South Wales|North Sydney]] File:JoeysChapel.jpg|[[St Joseph's College, Hunters Hill]] Chapel, 1940 File:StPatricksChurch2021 b.jpg|St Patricks Church Murrumbeena in Victoria </gallery>

===Film and television=== Australian films on Catholic themes have included:

* ''[[Molokai: The Story of Father Damien]]'' (1999), directed by [[Paul Cox (director)|Paul Cox]] and starring [[David Wenham]]. The film recounts the life of the Belgian Saint Fr [[Damien of Molokai]] who devoted his life to the [[Kalaupapa Leprosy Settlement]] on the [[Hawaiian Islands|Hawaiian island]] of [[Molokai]]. * ''[[Mary (1994 film)|Mary]]'' (1994), written and directed by Kay Pavlou and starring [[Lucy Bell]], a biopic recounting the life and works of Mary MacKillop, Australia's first saint of the Catholic Church. * ''[[The Passion of the Christ]]'' (2004) was directed and co-written by Australian trained actor-director [[Mel Gibson]] (who was raised a [[Traditionalist Catholic]] in Australia). * ''[[Oranges and Sunshine (film)|Oranges and Sunshine]]'' (2010), directed by [[Ken Loach]] and starring [[Emily Watson]], [[Hugo Weaving]] and [[David Wenham]]. The film is based on the true story of [[Margaret Humphreys]], an English social worker who uncovers the scandal of a scheme to forcibly relocate poor children to Australia and Canada. Many of the children suffered sexual, physical and emotional abuse at the hands of the [[Congregation of Christian Brothers|Christian Brothers]] in Australia. * ''[[The Devil's Playground (1976 film)|The Devil's Playground]]'' (1976) directed by [[Fred Schepisi]] and starring [[Simon Burke]], [[Nick Tate]], [[Arthur Dignam]] and [[John Frawley (actor)|John Frawley]]. The film is semi-autobiographical and tells the story of 13-year-old Tom Allen, training to be a religious Brother in the [[De La Salle Brothers|De La Salle Order]].

Television programs on Catholic themes have included:

* ''[[Revelation (TV series)|Revelation]]'' (2020) directed by [[Nial Fulton]] and [[Sarah Ferguson (journalist)|Sarah Ferguson]]. A three-part documentary on the sexual abuse of children by priests and religious brothers. Ferguson interviewed Father [[Vincent Ryan (priest)|Vincent Ryan]] and Brother [[Bernard McGrath]] during their criminal trials in Sydney. * ''[[The Devil's Playground (2010 film)|The Devil's Playground]]'' (2014), directed by [[Rachel Ward]] and Tony Krawitz and starring [[Simon Burke]], [[John Noble]], [[Don Hany]], [[Jack Thompson (actor)|Jack Thompson]] and [[Toni Collette]]. The series picks up 35 years after the events of Fred Schepisi's film. Tom Allen, now in his 40s is a respected Sydney psychiatrist and father of two children. After accepting an offer to counselling priests, he uncovers a scandal. *''[[Sisters of War]]'' (2010) is a telemovie based on the true story of two Australian women, Lorna Whyte, an army nurse and Sister Berenice Twohill, a Catholic nun from New South Wales who survived as prisoners of war in Papua New Guinea during World War II. * ''[[Brides of Christ]]'' (1991), starring [[Naomi Watts]] and guest starring [[Russell Crowe]], was a television miniseries produced by the [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]] (ABC). Set in a Sydney [[convent]] school, it dealt with the struggles of both the [[nun]]s and the young students to adapt to the many social changes taking place within the church and the outside world during the 1960s. * [[The Monastery (TV series)#Australia|The Abbey]] (2007), an ABC documentary series filmed in the Jamberoo Benedictine Abbey, followed five women from very different backgrounds and with very different views about spirituality as they lived a 33-day program introduction to monastic living devised and implemented by the [[nun]]s.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.abc.net.au/tv/theabbey/theabbey.htm |title=The Abbey |publisher=ABC TV |location=Australia |year=2011 |access-date=1 April 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120330091116/http://www.abc.net.au/tv/theabbey/theabbey.htm |archive-date=30 March 2012 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

Coverage of religion is part of the ABC's Charter{{citation needed|date=March 2012}} obligation to reflect the character and diversity of the Australian community. Its religious programs include coverage of Catholic (and other) worship and devotion, explanation, analysis, debate and reports.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.abc.net.au/compass/about/policies.htm |title=Editorial Policies Relating to Religion on ABC |work=Compass |publisher=ABC TV |location=Australia |year=2011 |access-date=1 April 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120817110553/http://www.abc.net.au/compass/about/policies.htm |archive-date=17 August 2012 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> Catholic Church Television Australia is an office with the Australian Catholic Office for Film & Broadcasting and develops television programs for [[Aurora Community Television]] on [[Foxtel]] and [[Austar]] in Australia.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://catholicchurchtv.com.au/ |title=Who are we? |access-date=31 July 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110916143329/http://catholicchurchtv.com.au/ |archive-date=16 September 2011 }}</ref>

===Literature=== [[File:LesM.JPG|thumb|150px|[[Les Murray (poet)|Les Murray]], Catholic poet (1938–2019)]]

The body of literature produced by Australian Catholics is extensive. During colonial times, the [[Benedictine]] missionary [[William Bernard Ullathorne|William Ullathorne]] (1806–1889) was a notable essayist writing against the [[Convict Transportation]] system. Later Cardinal Moran (1830–1911), a noted historian, wrote a ''History of the Catholic Church in Australasia''.<ref name="newadvent.org"/> More recent Catholic histories of Australia include ''The Catholic Church and Community in Australia'' (1977) by [[Patrick O'Farrell]] and ''Australian Catholics'' (1987) by [[Edmund Campion (historian)|Edmund Campion]].

Notable Catholic poets have included [[Christopher Brennan]] (1870–1932); [[James McAuley]] (1917–1976);<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.catholicaustralia.com.au/page.php?pg=austchurch-austcatholics |title=Prominent Australian Catholics |work=Catholic Australia |access-date=6 February 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120222114805/http://www.catholicaustralia.com.au/page.php?pg=austchurch-austcatholics |archive-date=22 February 2012 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> [[Bruce Dawe]] (1930–2020) and [[Les Murray (poet)|Les Murray]] (1938–2019). Murray and Dawe were among Australia's foremost contemporary poets, noted for their use of vernacular and everyday Australian themes. Emblematic of the Christian poets could be McAuley's rejection of [[Modernism]] in favour of Classical culture:<ref name="australiaschristianheritageforum.org.au">{{cite web |title=Graeme Davisons Paper |url=http://www.australiaschristianheritageforum.org.au/Resources/GraemeDavisonsPaper.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706124210/http://www.australiaschristianheritageforum.org.au/Resources/GraemeDavisonsPaper.pdf |archive-date=6 July 2011 }}</ref>

:Christ, you walked on a sea :But you cannot walk in a poem, :Not in our century. :There's something deeply wrong :Either with us or with you.<ref>{{cite book |first=James |last=McAuley |chapter=In the Twentieth Century (1969) |title=Collected Poems |location=Sydney |year=1994 |pages=242–243}}</ref>

Many Australian writers have examined the lives of Christian characters, or have been influenced by Catholic schooling. Australia's best-selling novel of all time, ''[[The Thorn Birds]]'' by [[Colleen McCullough]], writes of the temptations encountered by a priest living in the Outback. Many contemporary Australian writers have attended or taught at Catholic schools{{Citation needed|date=December 2019}}

Catholic news publications have existed since 1839.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://australiancatholichistoricalsociety.com.au/history-resources/the-catholic-press/ |title=The Catholic Press in Australia |date=2020 |website=Australian Catholic Historical Society |publisher= |access-date=29 June 2021}}</ref> They currently include: ''[[The Catholic Weekly]]'' from Sydney; ''[[The Catholic Leader]]'', published by the Brisbane Archdiocese; and ''[[Eureka Street (magazine)|Eureka Street Magazine]]'' which is concerned with public affairs, arts, and theology and is run by the communication division of the [[Jesuit]] religious order.

===Music===

[[St Mary's Cathedral Choir, Sydney]], is the oldest musical institution in Australia, from origins in 1817.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lea-Scarlett |first1=Errol |date=1979 |title=A Cathedral reaches out — the impact of St. Mary's music on Sydney life |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08145857.1979.10415135 |journal=Musicology Australia |volume=5 |pages=173–190 |doi=10.1080/08145857.1979.10415135 |access-date=8 June 2020|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Major Catholic-raised recording artists from [[Johnny O'Keefe]] to [[Paul Kelly (Australian musician)|Paul Kelly]] have recorded Christian spirituals. Paul Kelly's ''Meet Me in the Middle of the Air'' is based on [[Psalm 23]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.abc.net.au/queensland/stories/s1476323.htm |title=Musician Paul Kelly |date=7 October 2005 |format=streaming audio |work=ABC Queensland |author1=Austin, Steve |author2=Sennett, Sean |access-date=6 February 2012 |location=Australia |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120121164828/http://www.abc.net.au/queensland/stories/s1476323.htm |archive-date=21 January 2012 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> Catholic nun [[Sister Janet Mead]] achieved significant mainstream chart success. [[New South Wales Supreme Court]] Judge [[George Palmer (composer)|George Palmer]] was commissioned to compose the setting of the Mass for Sydney's [[World Youth Day 2008]] Papal Mass. The Mass, ''Benedictus Qui Venit'', for large choir, soloists and orchestra, was performed in the presence of [[Pope Benedict XVI]] and an audience of 350,000 with singing led by soprano [[Amelia Farrugia]] and tenor [[Andrew Goodwin (tenor)|Andrew Goodwin]]. "[[Receive the Power]]", a song written by [[Guy Sebastian]] and [[Gary Pinto]], was chosen as the official anthem for the XXIII [[World Youth Day]] (WYD08) held in Sydney in 2008.<ref name="Australian Idol Wrote World Youth Day Anthem">{{cite news |url=http://famvin.org/en/archive/australian-idol-wrote-world-youth-day-anthem |title=Australian Idol Wrote World Youth Day Anthem |work=Famvin.org |date=17 May 2007 |access-date=25 June 2011 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120708225423/http://famvin.org/en/archive/australian-idol-wrote-world-youth-day-anthem |archive-date=8 July 2012 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

Australian Christmas carols like the ''Three Drovers'' or ''Christmas Day'' by John Wheeler and [[William G. James]] place the Christmas story in an Australian context of warm, dry Christmas winds and red dust and are popular at Catholic services. As the festival of Christmas falls during the Australian summer, Australians gather in large numbers for traditional open-air evening carol services and concerts in December, such as [[Carols by Candlelight]] in Melbourne and [[Carols in the Domain]] in Sydney.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/christmas/ |title=Christmas season celebrations in Australia |work=About Australia |publisher=Australian Government |date=16 July 2009 |access-date=6 February 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110408180134/http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/christmas/ |archive-date=8 April 2011 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

===Art=== [[File:St. Mary's Cathedral - Sydney - Stained Glass - 018 - Detail b.jpg|thumb|250px|The chancel window of [[St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney]] depicts a vision of Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary enthroned in Heaven.]]

The story of Christian art in Australia began with the arrival of the first British settlers at the end of the 18th century. During the 19th century, [[Gothic Revival]] cathedrals were built in the colonial capitals, often containing [[stained glass]] art works, as can be seen at [[St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney]], and [[St Patrick's Cathedral, Melbourne]]. [[Roy de Maistre]] (1894–1968) was an Australian abstract artist who obtained renown in Britain, converted to Catholicism and painted notable religious works, including a series of [[Stations of the Cross]] for [[Westminster Cathedral]] in London. Among the most acclaimed of Australian painters of Catholic themes was [[Arthur Boyd]]. He painted a Biblical series, and created tapestries of the life of [[St Francis of Assisi]]. Influenced by both the European masters and the [[Heidelberg School]] of Australian landscape art, he placed the central characters of the Bible within Australian bush scenery, as in his portrait of [[Adam and Eve]], ''The Expulsion'' (1948).<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/obituary-arthur-boyd-1090265.html | location=London | work=The Independent | title=Obituary: Arthur Boyd | first=Bryan | last=Robertson | date=29 April 1999 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160604033032/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/obituary-arthur-boyd-1090265.html | archive-date=4 June 2016 | df=dmy-all }}</ref> The artist [[Leonard French]], who designed a stained glass ceiling of the [[National Gallery of Victoria]], has drawn heavily on Christian story and symbolism through his career.<ref>{{cite web |title=Leonard French |publisher=National Gallery of Victoria |url=http://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/collection/pub/artistItemListing?artistID=2796 |access-date=31 July 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090928001952/http://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/collection/pub/artistItemListing?artistID=2796 |archive-date=28 September 2009 }}</ref>

==Saints and other venerated Australians== Some of the Australians honoured by the Catholic Church to be saints or whose cause for canonisation is still being investigated include:

===Saints=== *[[Mary MacKillop]], founder of the [[Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart]] of Jesus **Declared Venerable: 13 June 1992 **Beatified: 19 January 1995 **Canonised: 17 October 2010

=== Venerables ===

* [[Mary Glowrey]] (Mary of the Sacred Heart), a professed religious of the Society of Jesus Mary Joseph ** Declared Venerable: 21 November 2025<ref>{{Cite web |last=Boyd |first=Julie |date=2025-11-23 |title=Cause towards sainthood advances as Pope raises Mary Glowrey to Venerable |url=https://www.ballarat.catholic.org.au/cause-towards-sainthood-advances-as-pope-raises-mary-glowrey-to-venerable/ |access-date=2026-03-27 |website=Diocese of Ballarat |language=en-AU}}</ref>

=== Servants of God === *[[Caroline Chisholm]], a married laywoman of the Archdiocese of Canberra-Goulburn *[[Eileen Rosaline O'Connor]], a laywoman of the Archdiocese of Sydney and founder of the Society of Our Lady's Nurses for the Poor *[[Constance Helen Gladman]] (Mary Rosina), a professed religious of the [[Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart]]

===Other open causes=== *[[Mother Vincent Whitty|Ellen Whitty]], a professed religious of the [[Sisters of Mercy]] *[[Irene McCormack]], a professed religious of the [[Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart]]

===Visits of saints' relics=== Australia has hosted the major relics of a number saints: * [[Peter Chanel]], [[protomartyr]] of the South Seas (4 May 1849 to 1 February 1850) * [[Therese of Lisieux]] (2002), and together with her parents [[Louis Martin and Marie-Azélie Guérin]] (2020) * [[Margaret Mary Alacoque]] (2005) * [[Pier Giorgio Frassati]] for the Sydney World Youth Day (2008) * [[Francis Xavier]] (2013)

===Visits by saints during their lifetime=== * [[Teresa of Calcutta]] (1969, 1981) * Pope [[Paul VI]] (1970) * Pope [[John Paul II]] (1986, 1995)

==Organisation== [[File:Our Lady Help Of Christians School, East Brunswick.jpg|thumb|[[Our Lady Help of Christians Catholic Church]] in [[Brunswick East]] is part of the Melbourne archdiocese]] Within Australia the church hierarchy is made of metropolitan archdioceses and suffragan sees. Each diocese has a [[Bishop (Catholic Church)|bishop]], while each archdiocese is served by an [[archbishop]]. Australia had no living members of the [[College of Cardinals]] from the death on 10 January 2023 of the previous Archbishop of Sydney, [[George Pell]], until the elevation on 7 December 2024 of [[Mykola Bychok]] to the College of Cardinals. The national assembly of bishops is the [[Australian Catholic Bishops Conference]] (ACBC), headed by [[Timothy Costelloe|Timothy Costelloe SDB]], the Archbishop of Perth.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.catholic.au/s/article/About-the-Bishops-Conference| title = About the Bishops Conference}}; Catholic Australia; 13 July 2022</ref> There are a further 175 autonomous [[Catholic religious order]]s operating in Australia, generally affiliated under Catholic Religious Australia, headed by Sr [[Monica Cavanagh]] RSJ.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

The church in Australia has five provinces: Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney. There are seven archdioceses: Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra and Goulburn, Hobart, Melbourne and Perth. There are 35 [[diocese]]s, comprising geographic areas as well as the [[Catholic Diocese of the Australian Defence Force|Australian Defence Force]] and dioceses for the [[Chaldean Catholic Eparchy of Saint Thomas the Apostle of Sydney|Chaldean]], [[Maronite Catholic Eparchy of Saint Maron of Sydney|Maronite]], [[Melkite Greek Catholic Eparchy of Saint Michael Archangel in Sydney|Melkite]] and [[Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Saints Peter and Paul of Melbourne|Ukrainian]] rites.<ref name="catholic.org.au"/> There is also a [[personal ordinariate]], principally for former Anglicans, which has a similar status to a diocese.<ref name="ordinariate.org.au"/> <ref name="CHADF"/> There is also the Australian vicariate of the international personal prelature of the holy cross and opus dei.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Opus Dei - Opus Dei in Australia |url=https://opusdei.org/en-au/page/opus-dei-in-australia/ |access-date=2025-05-26 |website=Opus Dei |language=en-AU}}</ref> Rev Paul Hayward, a member of the canon law society of Great Britain and Ireland published in 2013 a helpful article expanding on the theme of territorial and personal jurisdictions.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://prelaturaspersonales.org/territorial-and-personal-jurisdictions-ordinariates/ | title=Territorial and personal jurisdictions. Ordinariates | Prelaturas, Ordinariatos y otras circunscripciones personales | date=28 January 2013 }}</ref> In May 2024, Pope Francis published a short letter to parish priests throughout the world offering three suggestions, the first beginning; "I ask you first to live out your specific ministerial charism in ever greater service to the varied gifts that the Spirit sows in the People of God. It is urgent to discover with faith, the many and varied charismatic gifts of the laity, be they of a humble or more exalted form..."<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/letters/2024/documents/20240502-lettera-parroci.html | title=Letter of His Holiness Pope Francis to Parish Priests (2 May 2024) | Francis }}</ref> In 2017, there were an estimated 3,000 [[priest]]s and 9,000 men and women in [[institutes of consecrated life]] and [[societies of apostolic life]].

===Australian Catholic Bishops Conference=== The [[Australian Catholic Bishops Conference]] is the national body of the bishops of Australia.<ref name="Welcome">{{cite web |url=http://www.catholic.org.au/ |title=Welcome |publisher=Catholic Church in Australia |access-date=31 October 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111031071649/http://www.catholic.org.au/ |archive-date=31 October 2011 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> The Conference is headed by Perth Archbishop, [[Timothy Costelloe|Timothy Costelloe SDB]]. It is served by a secretariat, based in Canberra, under the management of the Reverend Brian Lucas. The conference meets at least annually.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.catholic.org.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1124&Itemid=296 |title=Australian Catholic Bishops Conference |publisher=Catholic Church in Australia |access-date=31 October 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111016171233/http://www.catholic.org.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1124&Itemid=296 |archive-date=16 October 2011 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> A list of Australian Prelates by name can be found at gcatholic dot org. See footnote:<ref>{{cite web | url=https://gcatholic.org/hierarchy/country/AU.htm | title=Bishops of Australia (By Name) }}</ref>

===Archdioceses and dioceses=== {{colbegin}} * [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Adelaide|Archdiocese of Adelaide]] ** [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Darwin|Diocese of Darwin]] ** [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Port Pirie|Diocese of Port Pirie]] * [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane|Archdiocese of Brisbane]] ** [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Cairns|Diocese of Cairns]] ** [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockhampton|Diocese of Rockhampton]] ** [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Toowoomba|Diocese of Toowoomba]] ** [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Townsville|Diocese of Townsville]] * [[Archdiocese of Melbourne]] ** [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Ballarat|Diocese of Ballarat]] ** [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Sale|Diocese of Sale]] ** [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Sandhurst|Diocese of Sandhurst]] ** [[Ukrainian Eparchy of Ss Peter and Paul]] * [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Perth|Archdiocese of Perth]] ** [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Broome|Diocese of Broome]] ** [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Bunbury|Diocese of Bunbury]] ** [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Geraldton|Diocese of Geraldton]] * [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney|Archdiocese of Sydney]] ** [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Armidale|Diocese of Armidale]] ** [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Bathurst in Australia|Diocese of Bathurst]] ** [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Broken Bay|Diocese of Broken Bay]] ** [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Lismore|Diocese of Lismore]] ** [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle|Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle]] ** [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Parramatta|Diocese of Parramatta]] ** [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Wagga Wagga|Diocese of Wagga Wagga]] ** [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Wilcannia-Forbes|Diocese of Wilcannia-Forbes]] ** [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Wollongong|Diocese of Wollongong]] * Immediately subject to the [[Holy See]]: ** [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn|Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn]] (attached to the Province of Sydney) ** [[Archdiocese of Hobart]] (attached to the Province of Melbourne) ** [[Catholic Diocese of the Australian Defence Force]] (attached to Sydney) ** [[Chaldean Catholic Eparchy of Saint Thomas the Apostle|Chaldean Eparchy of Saint Thomas the Apostle]] (attached to Sydney) ** [[Maronite Diocese of St Maroun]] (attached to Sydney) ** [[Melkite Catholic Eparchy of St Michael, Archangel|Melkite Eparchy of St Michael, Archangel]] (attached to Sydney) ** [[Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of the Southern Cross]] ** [[Syro-Malabar Catholic Eparchy of Melbourne|St Thomas the Apostle Syro-Malabar Catholic Eparchy of Melbourne]] {{colend}}

===Catholic Religious Australia=== {{See also|List of monasteries in Australia}} Australia's autonomous [[Catholic religious orders]] are affiliated under Catholic Religious Australia (CRA), which is the public name of the Australian Conference of Leaders of Religious Institutes (ACLRI). This is the peak body for leaders of the religious institutes and societies of apostolic life resident in Australia. It represents more than 130 congregations of sisters, brothers and priests. It is established by the authority of the [[Holy See]] in Rome and is tasked with promoting, supporting and representing religious life in the Australian church and in the wider community and with facilitating co-ordination and co-operation of religious with church bodies and with other authorities including with episcopal conferences and with individual bishops.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.catholicreligious.org.au/|title=Catholic Religious Australia|website=Catholic Religious Australia|language=en-US|access-date=2019-03-10}}</ref> The organisation is presently led by Josephite Sister [[Monica Cavanagh]].<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

==See also== * [[Catholic Church by country]] * [[Broken Rites]] & [[Catholic sexual abuse scandal in Australia]] * [[Christianity in Australia]] * [[List of Catholic cathedrals in Australia]] *[[List of Catholic dioceses in Australia]] * [[List of saints from Oceania]] * [[Religion in Australia]] * [[:Category:Catholic Church in South America]]

==References== {{Reflist}}

==Further reading== * {{cite book | author=O'Farrell, Patrick | title=The Catholic Church and community in Australia: a history| publisher=Thomas Nelson |location=West Melbourne, Australia | year=1977 | author-link=Patrick O'Farrell |page=463}} * {{cite book | author=Campion, Edmund | title=Australian Catholics| publisher=Penguin |location=Ringwood, Australia| author-link=Edmund Campion (historian) | year=1987 |page=280 }} * {{cite book | author=Franklin, James | title=Catholic Thought and Catholic Action: Scenes from Australian Catholic Life |url=https://www.connorcourtpublishing.com.au/Catholic-Thought-and-Catholic-Action-Scenes-from-Australian-Catholic-Life--James-Franklin_p_522.html| publisher= Connor Court Publishing |location=Brisbane | year=2023 | author-link= James Franklin (philosopher) |isbn=9781922815354}} * {{cite news |author=Brennan, Frank |author-link=Frank Brennan (Jesuit) |url=http://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article.aspx?aeid=8111 |title=The Australian Religious Landscape through Catholic Eyes, on the Eve of World Youth Day 2008 |date=12 July 2008 |work=Eureka Street |publisher=Jesuit Communications Australia |access-date=16 July 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110305120802/http://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article.aspx?aeid=8111 |archive-date=5 March 2011 |url-status=dead }}

==External links== * [http://www.catholic.org.au/ Catholic Church in Australia's official website] * [http://www.acbc.catholic.org.au/ Australian Catholic Bishops Conference official website] * [http://australiancatholichistoricalsociety.com.au/ Australian Catholic Historical Society] * [https://australiancatholichistoricalsociety.com.au/history-resources/timeline/ Timeline of Australian Catholic History] * [https://australiancatholichistoricalsociety.com.au/history-resources/australian-catholic-biographies/ Australian Catholic Biographies] * [http://www.patrickofarrell.com/ Website of Patrick O'Farrell, historian of Catholic Australia] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100514094430/http://www.patrickofarrell.com/ |date=14 May 2010 }} * {{cite web|title = Catholic Church in Australia| work=Catholic-Hierarchy|url =http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/country/au.html}}

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