Gothic revival masterpiece throws open its door to Jubilee pilgrims

It’s shaping up to be a huge year for St Mary’s Star of the Sea in West Melbourne. The magnificent neo-gothic church is marking 125 years since its official opening in February 1900 and is an official Jubilee 2025 pilgrimage destination for the Archdiocese of Melbourne.

In fact, parish priest Fr Andrew Paris says while it is timely that the Holy Year is also a milestone year for the church, the designation of St Mary’s as a Pilgrim Place is the special celebration.

St Mary’s will play a key role in promoting spiritual renewal in the Archdiocese, says Fr Andrew.

‘Its designation as a Pilgrim Place is a recognition of its role as a centre of social justice and community outreach.’

Every day is a celebration for those who receive.

Fr Andrew says many of the pilgrims will be new visitors to the church, joining regular parishioners in benefitting from the graces, or indulgences, made available to Catholics during the Jubilee Year.

‘The indulgences help people in their Christian life,’ Fr Andrew explains, ‘when they present to pray and offer up for departed people they love.’

One of St Mary’s contributions as a Pilgrim Place, he says, is the many opportunities it offers pilgrims to receive the sacrament of Reconciliation—before and after the twice daily weekday Masses, as well as weekday evenings and multiple times on weekends.

‘Every day is special,’ he says, when the sacraments—Mass and Reconciliation—are offered so many times a day.

‘Many people benefit from that. Every one of these confessions is a miracle, an extraordinary special moment. Every day is a celebration for those who receive.

‘In a sense, the whole purpose of the Jubilee Year is that it’s a coming back to Christ,’ he says, ‘and for that, the sacrament of Reconciliation is a necessary step. That’s what being a Pilgrim Place is really all about.’

Despite the abundance of confession times, he invites groups who want to make the pilgrimage to St Mary’s to get in touch ahead of their visit so the priests can organise more if needed.

The heritage-listed church took 18 years to build, from the laying of the foundation stone in 1882 by the first Archbishop of Melbourne, James Alpius Goold.

The completed building was blessed on 18 February 1900, by Cardinal Patrick Francis Moran, then Archbishop of Sydney and the most senior Catholic in Australia at the time.

‘The church was a gift to the Archdiocese of Melbourne from very forward-looking and magnanimous early parishioners, especially in straightened times,’ Fr Andrew says, explaining that the years 1890–1900 were a time of financial crisis in Australia.

Those early parishioners were largely impoverished Irish immigrants who had settled in the area, which was then quite close to the Port of Melbourne.

Fr Andrew says it’s an indication of how deep their faith was, that they shook off the physical exhaustion from their work to raise funds to help build what they hoped would be ‘the grandest church in Australia’.

It’s clear they succeeded.

St Mary’s is the largest parish church in the country, of any denomination, and boasts what the church’s website calls an ‘elaborate high Victorian gothic-revival interior’.

The original design of St Mary’s was by a relatively unknown young architect, Edgar Henderson, while much of the interior is attributed to Phillip Kennedy, the architect who took over from Henderson during the construction.

Most of the original interior remains. The walls had been painted over but were carefully restored in the early 2000s to expose glorious murals and stencilling.

Fr Andrew says even though he spends hours each day inside the church, he still sees details that he’s not noticed before.

It is a beautiful church, but the real beauty is what happens here every day.

The restoration was a community project, he says, with many tradesmen parishioners working in their own time free of charge.

Nonetheless, the project cost millions of dollars. Its external sandstone beauty has also been its burden, requiring constant renovations over its 125 years. About 40 per cent of the original building has been replaced with more durable sandstone from Queensland. The latest building fund is raising money to fix the roof.

‘It’s a bit embarrassing, but on rainy days we have to scurry around to put buckets out to catch the leaks,’ Fr Andrew says.

He hopes that people might follow the lead of those 19th-century Irish migrants and generously support efforts to maintain the magnificent building.

‘We hope that visitors will be moved, inspired to help us fund our restoration … [and that] will also be part of the Jubilee celebrations.’

Fr Andrew is quick to point out that the beauty of the building is not an end in itself but hopefully a way into a deeper relationship with God. He says that a focus of his pastoral care—particularly for those married in the church—is helping people to continue on a journey of faith beyond their initial delight in the physical beauty of St Mary’s.

He makes a point of contacting couples a year later to congratulate them on their anniversary, as a way of keeping them connected to the parish. Their marriage is more than just a wedding in a picturesque church, he says. ‘One of our big activities is a marriage preparation seminar, with around 120 couples coming through each year.’

A particular joy, he says, is when ‘there’s been a wedding and a year later they’re back for a baptism.’

The Archdiocese entrusted St Mary’s Star of the Sea to Opus Dei priests in 2001, and in 2012 it was dedicated as a Melbourne Archdiocesan Shrine of the Holy Family.

The church is home to a vibrant multi-ethnic congregation, including Filipino, Vietnamese, Latvian, Italian and Maltese parishioners

The parish’s communications spokeswoman, Michelle Komadina, says generations have enjoyed the building, and have been touched by the countless weddings, baptisms and funeral services held there.

‘It is a beautiful church, but the real beauty is what happens here every day,’ she says.

‘There are a lot of churches that offer sacraments every day, but not in the suburbs, so many people come here from different parishes for that experience, to know that their soul can be really well looked after.

‘The priests are known for their spiritual direction; they’re good confessors,’ she says. ‘That’s the spirit that’s built into [this church] and the love of the person who comes in seeking reconciliation with God.’

Fr Andrew says if other holy years are any indication, people new to the faith may have their interest piqued by the Jubilee celebrations.

‘We hope the beauty and magnificence of it will attract people to come to the church then make their way to parishes in their areas.’