About Sacred Heart Cathedral

The outstretched, enfolding arms of the marble statue of the Saviour welcome all to the Sacred Heart Cathedral. The invitation "Venite Ad Me Omnes" (All come to me) is often taken up by passers by. The cathedral is relatively new, being opened in 1930 as the parish church of Hamilton and consecrated by Bishop Edmund Gleeson in 1941.

The church was built because of the vision of Monsignor Victor Francis Peters who was influenced by the architecture of the cathedral in Thurles in Ireland; the Cathedral Church of Philadelphia in USA and the brick work in front of the Pisa church in Italy.

The church was built virtually, brick by brick, on the dream of Monsignor Peters and through the generosity of the parishioners, who in the midst of the Great Depression bought bricks for an average of twopence each.

A donation of ten pounds was the norm. In all 700,000 bricks were used.Very much a church of the people, the Sacred Heart Church's foundations were dug with the physical aid of parishioners.

The statue of the Sacred Heart ensconsed above the entrance to the Cathedral.

The foundation stone was laid on September 23, 1928. The first brick was laid on February 1, 1929 and the last brick just ten months later on December 1, 1929. Sixty years later, the earthquake of 1989 caused considerable damage particularly to the belltower. The original concrete dome was replaced by one of copper. The original dome now stands as a memorial to those who lost their lives in the earthquake.

One of the consequences of the earthquake was the damage to the Pro- Cathedral in Maitland. Because of the change in direction of population movement, Bishop Leo Clarke took the opportunity to apply to Rome for the diocese to become Maitland Newcastle and the Church of the Sacred Heart to become the Cathedral. This request was granted.

A beautiful and welcoming place of worship, the Sacred Heart Church became a cathedral on July 16, 1995 and truly the heart of the diocese.

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