The annual Patrick Oration, delivered on the feast of St Patrick, has become an important occasion for reflecting on the life of the Church and its mission in Melbourne. The sixth Patrick Oration was delivered on Monday 17 March, St Patrick’s Day, by the Archbishop of Melbourne, Most Rev Peter A Comensoli, at the Hotel Windsor. In his address, Archbishop Comensoli spoke of light, renewal and the enduring power of faith, drawing on both historical and contemporary examples to illustrate how faith acts as a force for transformation.
A feast day celebration
Before the oration, at 5.30pm, about 200 people gathered at St Patrick’s Cathedral for the annual St Patrick’s Day Mass, a celebration of the patron saint of the Archdiocese. Many in the congregation wore green as a sign of their Irish heritage and devotion to St Patrick or to honour the legacy of faith he inspired.
Archbishop Comensoli, who presided over the liturgy, reflected on St Patrick’s life and mission in his homily, drawing from the well-known prayer often attributed to the saint. ‘(Atomruig indíu) I bind unto myself today… These are the words that commence the great prayer attributed to St Patrick, often called his Breastplate,’ he said.
Emphasising its deeply Trinitarian and Christological nature, he described the prayer as a powerful invocation of God’s protection, one that framed St Patrick’s life and mission. He noted that ‘it is through the Blessed Trinity that we come to know who God is. Our address in prayer to the Trinity attaches us to God, who is a Communion of love.’
Reflecting on St Patrick’s enduring legacy—and on themes he would pick up later that evening in his oration—the Archbishop highlighted his role as a missionary bishop, preacher and founder of Christian communities, planting the seeds of faith that continue to bear fruit. ‘The life of Patrick was one that was oriented to God, Creator and Redeemer, and to the people he called his own. He founded Christian communities, ordained leadership to those Churches, and preached God’s Word to any who would listen. The seeds of faith he planted have endured.’
As the Mass concluded with the stirring hymn ‘I bind unto myself today’, based on the words of St Patrick’s Breastplate, many of the gathered faithful prepared to make their way across Spring Street to the Hotel Windsor, where they would gather for dinner and to hear Archbishop Comensoli deliver the 2025 Patrick Oration.
Sunflowers: a symbol of hope in darkness
Reflecting on the 2011 disaster in Fukushima, Japan, where an earthquake, tsunami and nuclear meltdown devastated the region, Archbishop Comensoli began his oration by recounting the story of a Buddhist monk who remained behind while others fled. ‘As he made his way around the desolated land, he began planting sunflower seeds in the dead soil,’ he said. Over time, these sunflowers lifted the spirits of those who remained, with their vibrant, open faces seeking the light. But they also served a deeper purpose, drawing toxins from the soil and beginning the healing process for the land. ‘The sunflowers broke down the cancer in the ground,’ the Archbishop explained; ‘with the power of light, they drew out the poison of death.’
‘Ah, those beautiful, vibrant faces, turned to the sun, always seeking a light that could penetrate even into the darkness of death. Darkness to light; death to life. There was healing power in those sunflower seeds, sown to bring hope and renewal into a wounded land.’
This story, Archbishop Comensoli explained, carries profound symbolism for the Church, including here in Melbourne. Just as the sunflowers transformed the poisoned land, faith brings healing, hope and new life to wounded hearts and communities.
Building a house of God
Drawing a parallel between the sunflowers and the early Catholic settlers of Melbourne, Archbishop Comensoli turned to the history of St Patrick’s Cathedral. ‘The seeds planted by early Melbourne Catholics—mostly made up of the working-class poor—were rather different to sunflower seeds, but they had a very similar intention,’ he noted.
The ‘seeds’ that built St Patrick’s were the blocks of bluestone excavated from local quarries and purchased with the small contributions of families who sought to establish a lasting home for their faith. ‘In the 1850s, when the working poor, the homeless and the transported were trying to find ways to live and build families and homes, hope and light were desperately needed,’ the Archbishop said.
The Cathedral, he explained, was built not just as a place of worship, but as a shelter, a sanctuary and a place of belonging for God’s people. He paid tribute to the immigrants and labourers who worked to build what is now one of Melbourne’s most recognisable landmarks. ‘It is likely that the stones that built St Patrick’s Cathedral were quarried, hauled and cut by the poorest of labourers, and then set and arranged in place by countless immigrants forging a life for their families in the still-fledgling town,’ he said.
A place of encounter
Archbishop Comensoli reflected on the continuing significance of the Cathedral today, noting that more than half a million people pass through its doors each year. ‘That’s around 8,000–10,000 people a week,’ he said, highlighting the broad range of visitors, from regular parishioners and city workers attending weekday Mass, to tourists and passers-by who stop to pray or light a candle.
He spoke particularly of those who seek refuge at the Cathedral, ‘God’s closest friends, who come to St Pat’s [as] a place of sanctuary and safety … They might be poor and living rough, or struggling with mental illness and health challenges. Some come to escape—even for a brief moment—the wounds of violence and abuse, or in need of solace and healing.’ In this way, the Cathedral becomes for them ‘a home of respite and healing, a place of hope for something new,’ he said.
A renewed faith
Noting an increase in engagement with the Church, Archbishop Comensoli pointed to signs of renewal and hope, particularly in the growing number of catechumens and candidates preparing to enter the Church. ‘At the Rite of Election this year, held only two Sundays ago, 215 catechumens (those coming to the Christian faith) and 133 candidates (those completing their Christian initiation) gathered with their sponsors and catechists for the liturgy of welcome into God’s family. That’s the largest number welcomed in 25 years,’ he noted.
He described the impact of the Cathedral’s architecture on those encountering it for the first time, saying he loves ‘seeing their faces as they enter its vast expanse, captivated by its beauty and dignity. It is their home after all, their Mother Church, and it’s also spectacular. Then they experience the light! The great nave windows of amber glass illumine the whole space with a golden yellow glow.’
Turning to the light
Concluding his address, Archbishop Comensoli returned to the image of the sunflower, calling on the faithful to turn towards the light of Christ: ‘Our purpose is to turn towards the sun (Son), whose gaze brings light to our faces.’
He emphasised the Church’s role in guiding people towards renewal, encouraging those present to take up the task of nurturing faith and sharing the hope they have received.
‘How do we nurture these precious germinating seeds? And undertake the sowing of the field of people’s lives? How do we ensure that the eyes and hearts that are newly filled with Light do not dim when they meet our own?’ he asked.
‘The Gospel, the sacraments, our Christian love are the rivers of beauty and light that offer hope and a profound invitation to a new way of living, in a world often marked by disharmony and rupture.’
He closed with a reminder that the Church’s mission is lived out in daily acts of faith, service and love. ‘By walking this path with courage and conviction, we begin to reclaim the beauty of faith in God and restore a culture rooted in love, truth and justice, offering a powerful antidote to the loneliness and despair of the modern world, and lighting the way towards hope and transformation.
‘There is a power of attraction, and of healing—a beautiful hope—which comes to us as we turn our faces to the light of the risen Son of God,’ he said.
Among the distinguished guests at the oration were Cardinal Mykola Bychok of the Ukrainian Greek Eparchy of Sts Peter and Paul, auxiliary bishops of Melbourne Bishops Martin Ashe, Tony Ireland, Rene Ramirez RCJ and Thinh Nguyen, the Hon Ben Carroll (Deputy Premier of Victoria), Victorian opposition leader Mr Brad Battin MP, Senator Raffaele Ciccone of the Parliament of Australia, the Hon Lizzie Blandthorn MP (Minister for Children and for Disability), the Hon Anthony Carbines (Minister for Police, Community Safety, Victims and Racing), the Hon David Hodgett MP (Victorian Shadow Minister for Manufacturing and Innovation and for Employment and Industrial Relations) and Mr Chris Crewther MP (Victorian Member for Mornington).
Representatives of other faith traditions included the Right Rev Kyriakos of Melbourne (Bishop of the Greek Orthodox Diocese of Melbourne), the Right Rev Genieve Blackwell (Administrator of the Anglican Diocese of Melbourne), Bishop Evmenios Vasilopoulos (Bishop of Chora in the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia), Rev David Fotheringham (Moderator of the Uniting Church of Australia, Synod of Victoria and Tasmania), Rev Shenouda Boutros of the Coptic Orthodox Church, Rabbi Yaakob Glasman AM of the St Kilda Shule, Rabbi Gabi Kaltmann of the ARK Centre and Rev Sandy Boyce (Executive Officer of the Victorian Council of Churches).
Also in attendance were representatives of many Catholic communities, social service agencies, health and aged care organisations, clergy, religious, parishioners, young adults and seminarians.
