Australia's largest church, the Cathedral of Our Lady, Help of Christians, is nestled in the heart of Sydney's business centre. Long a national shrine, in 1930 it was given the honourable status of a "minor Basilica", which means that if the Pope visits the country, he can stay in this cathedral.
The history of the cathedral is an interesting one, spanning almost two centuries. Australia, as Australia is known to have been settled by exiles and convicts, many of whom were Catholics and who, until 1820, were forbidden to practise their religion. It was not until freedom of religion was declared in the country that it became possible to build a Catholic church in Sydney - the foundation stone was laid in 1821. The cathedral, which was built in a matter of years, was built in the neo-Gothic style in the shape of a Latin cross. However it did not last long - in 1865, most of the structure was burnt down in a fire. A new cathedral was started three years later, and this time it was not in a hurry: in 1882 the premises of the first stage were consecrated, the construction of the main nave was completed in 1928, and the crypt was not built until 1961! Thus, the construction lasted almost a hundred years. Moreover, some of the construction work continues today, for example, in 2000, the spires were erected over the two towers of the façade.
The plan of Our Lady's Cathedral has a traditional form for English churches - of a Latin cross, with a bell tower erected above the intersection of the nave and transept. It is built of golden sandstone, which on the outside has taken on a brownish tint, but the inside has retained its original colour.
Inside the cathedral you can see many paintings depicting the Way of the Cross. All of them were painted in Paris in the 19th century and then transported to Australia. There's also is a replica of Michelangelo's famous Pieta, the original of which in St Peter's Basilica in Rome. The cathedral is also famous for its stained glass windows, which were created over a period of almost 50 years - there are about 40 of them, all of them with different themes.
