Melbourne Syro-Malabar Cathedral to be consecrated

It’s been almost 11 years since Pope Francis announced the Syro-Malabar Eparchy of Thomas the Apostle.

On Saturday, the Major Archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Church, Raphael Thattil, will consecrate St Alphonsa Syro-Malabar Cathedral.

A host of bishops, senior clerics, members of state and federal parliament, and representatives from Catholic parishes across Victoria are expected to attend the consecration of the cathedral and a celebratory Holy Mass.

The consecration is the culmination of years of prayer, sacrifice, fellowship and work by about 550 families as they have sought a church of their own.

On 23 December 2013, Pope Francis announced that the Syro-Malabar Eparchy of Thomas the Apostle in Melbourne would be the second diocese of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church outside India (after Chicago in the USA).

The foundation stone for the cathedral was laid on 3 July 2020 by Abhiwandya Bosco Puthur, the first archbishop of the diocese.

The cathedral has been completed on a 3-acre site owned by the cathedral parish at 53 McKellar Way, near the Hume Freeway in Epping.

According to the diocesan website, the cathedral has been ‘built in a very beautiful manner with oriental tradition on 1711 square metres’.

The cathedral will accommodate up to 1000 people and includes a balcony and a room for parents with babies. A chapel can accommodate about 100 people, and classrooms for faith formation and related facilities have been built adjacent to the church.

The parish hall has a seating capacity of around 500 people, as well as a stage and a kitchen with modern facilities, which were completed and opened in November 2022.

Lumen Builders, a leading construction group in Australia, was entrusted with the construction of the cathedral.

‘We would like to thank everyone who prayed, worked and financially supported the realisation of the dream of the Melbourne Syro-Malabar Diocese,’ Melbourne Syro-Malabar Bishop John Panamthottathil CMI said.