Pilgrim Places

St Patrick’s Cathedral is the mother church of the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne. It is the tallest and largest church edifice in Australia, and serves more than 1 million Catholics in the largest diocese in Oceania. Construction of the magnificent Cathedral, built in the Gothic Revival style, begun in 1850. It was consecrated in 1897 and officially completed in 1939. Many cathedrals in the past were funded by the imposition of taxes, but St Patrick’s was a labour of love, the result of ordinary people’s generous self-giving. In this way, it truly belongs to the people.

Overlooking the city from Eastern Hill, its spires reaching to heaven, St Patrick’s holds a special place in the heart of Melburnians. The warm, golden light of its interior embraces all who enter this sacred space of beauty and inspiration.

Information for pilgrims to St Patrick’s Cathedral is available here.

Established in the mid 1960s, St Luke’s arose in response to booming post-war immigration. By the 1970s, 40 per cent of the suburb’s residents were Italian. During this time, the Scalabrian Missionaries—with their long history of accompanying and serving migrant and refugee communities—took over the care of this rapidly growing multicultural parish community, and have done so ever since. The church remains a place of welcome and a centre of devotional and community life for many who have come from overseas to make a new life for themselves in Melbourne.

The Polish Marian Shrine is a cherished spiritual destination dedicated to Our Lady of Czestochowa, affectionately known as the Black Madonna. Established in the 1970s by Melbourne's Polish community, and reflecting their deep Marian devotion and cultural heritage, the shrine is the only church in Australia consecrated by St John Paul II (then Cardinal Karol Wojtyła during his visit to Melbourne in 1973). With strong ties to the Society of Jesus and the Resurrection Sisters, the shrine offers a serene space for prayer and reflection, and features a striking replica of the revered icon of Our Lady of Czestochowa, along with relics and a statue of St John Paul II.

Lying near the north-western boundary of the Archdiocese of Melbourne, Trentham is one of the most charming towns in Victoria’s historic goldfields. For well over a century, St Mary Magdalen Church has been at the heart of this community, steeped in its history. Buried beneath the church’s foundation stone—laid by Archbishop Thomas Carr in 1906—is a time capsule, not scheduled to be opened until 1 January 2105.

Information for pilgrims to St Mary Magdalen’s, Trentham is available on the parish website.

With strong links to Melbourne's Polish Catholic community, the Divine Mercy Shrine in Keysborough was inspired by the message of Divine Mercy revealed to St Faustina Kowalska in the 1930s. Established in 1998, the shrine serves as a peaceful haven for all those seeking God’s boundless mercy. Pastoral care is provided by priests of the Society of Christ for Poles Living Abroad, supported by the Missionary Sisters of Christ the King for Polish Emigrants. The shrine's chapel prominently features a striking image of the Divine Mercy and a relic of St Faustina. With its rich history of devotion and commitment to spreading the message of Divine Mercy, the shrine invites pilgrims to deepen their faith and to encounter God’s compassionate love.

Established by Melbourne's thriving Vietnamese Catholic community, and consecrated by Archbishop Peter A Comensoli in 2020, the Our Lady of La Vang Shrine in Keysborough honours the Vietnamese Catholic devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and commemorates the 18th-century Marian apparitions in La Vang, Vietnam, where Mary appeared to comfort and protect persecuted Catholics. Two concrete panels at the front of the shrine, shaped like open hands, represent the welcoming hands of Australia. Large stained glass windows behind the altar depict the apostle Peter and Vietnamese boat people being saved from drowning by divine intervention. Pilgrims will also find a beautiful statue of Our Lady of La Vang.

St Patrick's church combines neo-Gothic architecture with elements of mid–20th century design, providing a beautiful and inspiring sacred space for pilgrims to linger and pray. Its bell tower—the highest point in Mentone—is topped by a concrete 'crown', representing our hope of the ‘crown of eternal life’ in heaven. Pilgrims will discover many references to the life of St Patrick in the church doors, mosaics and distinctive thick-glass windows, the work of world-renown mid-century stained-glass artist Gabriel Loire of Chartres, France.

For more than 150 years, St Macartan’s has played a central role in the lives of local residents and visitors to Victoria’s stunning Mornington Peninsula, a region renowned for its natural beauty and coastal charm. Built in 1909, the current church features a beautiful stained-glass window of its patron, St Macartan, a companion of St Patrick, reflecting the Irish Catholic origins of this church, and this community, by the sea.

St Mary’s Star of the Sea in West Melbourne is one of Australia’s most iconic Catholic churches, renowned for its storied history, stunning architecture and grand pipe organ. Built in the late 19th century to a design by Edgar Henderson, the church reflects a blend of Gothic and Romanesque styles, with soaring spires, intricate stonework and a majestic interior featuring ornate altars and beautiful stained-glass windows. Now entrusted to Opus Dei, the church was designated Archdiocesan Shrine of the Holy Family in 2012 and continues to be a hub of vibrant spiritual life, connecting its rich history and grand architecture with living faith.

Information for pilgrims to St Mary's Star of the Sea is available here.

St Mary MacKillop Church in Keilor Downs is a vibrant and welcoming parish community offering a unique spiritual experience for all who visit. At its heart lies a relic of St Mary MacKillop, Australia’s first saint, enshrined beneath her statue, which serves as a powerful reminder of her enduring legacy of faith, compassion and service. The church also houses relics of other revered saints, including St Anthony of Padua, St John Paul II and St Therese of Lisieux.

Blending traditional Catholic symbolism with modern architectural elements to create a space that is both timeless and uplifting, St Mary MacKillop Church stands as a beacon of faith and inspiration for all who walk through its doors.

Having just celebrated its centenary in 2024, St Dominic’s has long been a place where parishioners and Dominicans work together to build the Church in this leafy eastern suburb of Melbourne. The current church, finally completed in 1958 and consecrated in 1960, has been described as ‘a defiant finale to the Gothic Revival in Australia’. Patrick Connolly’s elegant design and Henry Clarke’s magnificent windows combine to create a peaceful and inspiring sacred space. The church’s altar contains relics of Pope St Clement and St Dominic.

Before it became a parish church, Sacred Heart was a monastery under the care of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart. Opened by Archbishop Daniel Mannix in 1939, the cream-brick building is heritage-listed, with beautiful gardens, a serene place for pilgrims to visit and enjoy. The church also houses a first-class relic of St Edmund Abingdon: a piece of bone extracted from the forearm of the 12th-century Archbishop of Canterbury and opponent of King Henry III. When the old St Edmund's Church in Croydon was demolished in the 1990s, the relic was mislaid and almost discarded, but was thankfully identified and returned in 2013 to Sacred Heart, where it can be viewed to this day.

Situated in the far north-eastern corner of the Archdiocese of Melbourne, and on the road to Victoria’s snowfields, the Mansfield Catholic Parish was established in 1862 to serve Irish-born Catholics who settled in the region from the 1840s—with some descendants of these early settlers still residing in the parish. St Francis Xavier Church—the third church to be built on this site—was opened and blessed by Archbishop Daniel Mannix in 1937. A stained-glass memorial window featuring St Teresa is dedicated to the memory of servicemen from the Mansfield community who died in the First and Second World Wars.

Information for pilgrims to St Francis Xavier’s is available here.