St Patrick’s Church in Mentone is one of the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne’s designated pilgrim places for the 2025 Jubilee of Hope. Combining rich spiritual traditions, striking architecture and a welcoming community, it offers a meaningful destination for pilgrims seeking reflection and renewal.
Fr Justin Ford, the parish priest, explains why St Patrick’s was chosen as a pilgrim place: ‘It is a beautiful church, and quite active in terms of people coming to pray here. It’s open seven days a week and during daylight hours, basically. So that was not an issue for us and that was one of the requirements, that it be just open all the time for pilgrims to come.’
The church is also known for its devotional life. ‘There’s a strong worship tradition here,’ says Fr Ford, adding that pilgrims can join in eucharistic adoration. ‘All day on a Friday, there’s eucharistic exposition in the church, and quite a few parishioners are there for that.
‘And we have very good numbers each day at weekday Mass.’
St Patrick’s was opened in 1960 and, according to Fr Ford, is one of the last churches constructed in a traditional style, before the release of the Second Vatican Council guidelines for interior decoration of churches. For example, the altar houses relics, but the Vatican II liturgy for the consecration of a church no longer requires a relic to be incorporated into an altar.
As the parish guide explains, it was designed as a ‘visible catechism, in stone, brick, wood, metal and glass’ under the supervision of the late Fr Frank O’Hanlon. The exterior features Glen Iris bricks and a towering bell named ‘Patrick’, cast in Ireland in 1959.
The striking bronze doors were added in 2004 for the parish centenary. Sculptor Bart Sanciolo has depicted the Last Judgement, with Christ seated in glory. The guide notes: ‘Christ is the door through whom we must pass. He alone is the just and merciful judge.’ Flanking panels show St Patrick’s life, from his abduction to Ireland to his missionary work as a bishop.
‘The stained-glass windows are something really special at St Patrick’s,’ Fr Ford says. These notable features were created by the artist Gabriel Loire of Chartres in France. Each window and its placement are imbued with deep meaning. For example, windows in the east transept are blue and designed to catch the morning light, while the afternoon sun through the windows in the west transept bathe the interior in a red and gold light.
The parish’s pilgrim’s guide highlights the ‘glorious window depicting the Sacrifice of the Mass’ in the gallery, which portrays Christ as the Lamb of God at the centre of the cross, surrounded by symbols of redemption. At the entrance to the church are stained-glass portraits of St Patrick, St Peter and St Paul, along with other saints within the church building.
A video about the stained-glass windows, narrated by former parish priest Fr Cameron Forbes, can be found here.
St Patrick’s houses several side altars dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, St Mary, St Joseph and St Thérèse of Lisieux. These spaces, as Fr Justin explains, are focal points for prayer, ‘a place of focus on a saint, or devotion’. He says the Marian and Sacred Heart altars are especially popular, with many visitors lighting candles there.
‘Lots of thought has gone into various church traditions that are expressed in different parts of the church,’ he says.
The church also holds about eight relics, which are brought out on their respective feast days. While these relics don’t draw large crowds, Fr Justin says they hold a quiet significance. ‘It surprises me when there is a relic, how much that seems to attract people.’ Notably, the parish previously hosted the relics of St Thérèse in 2003, attracting more than 15,000 visitors in 22 hours.
St Patrick’s serves a diverse congregation—‘probably, like many parishes, on the older side, but not exclusively, so quite a few young people across our four churches,’ Fr Justin says. The parish has a history of hosting auxiliary bishops, including the late Bishop John Kelly and Cardinal George Pell, who later blessed the church’s bronze doors in 2004.
Its attraction for pilgrims is evident. Fr Justin says the church has had good numbers of visitors this year. Even large groups are easily accommodated, as the church can hold up to 500 people. Pilgrims can collect passport stamps at St Patrick’s, part of the Archdiocese’s Jubilee of Hope initiative. Fr Justin believes the passports have been part of the attraction for pilgrims. ‘It has been an encouragement for people to try and get to all the different churches.’
While Melbourne Catholic is visiting, Sharon, a pastoral care support worker from aged care provider VMCH arrives to scope out wheelchair access for her clients. The bubbly woman explains the organisation’s efforts to include elderly residents in pilgrimages, including hiring buses and transporting small groups to a central meeting point. ‘We are doing outings among several residential aged care [homes] because not everybody’s able to come [from one],’ she says. Fr Justin assures her there will be passports available for those who want them.
St Patrick’s Church is a rewarding destination for pilgrims. As Fr Justin puts it: ‘It’s got a strong spiritual tradition and, architecturally, I really felt it was one of the outstanding churches.’
Banner image: Stained-glass window in St Patrick’s Church Mentone by glass master Gabriel Loire. (Photo courtesy of SSPJV parish.)
