St Francis Xavier’s Cathedral was designed to built in stages, so that each section could be constructed as funds became available. As such, the cathedral was built between 1851-1926. As the first cathedral in Adelaide, St Francis Xavier is home to a number of significant stained glass windows.
As you enter the cathedral, the first stained glass windows you will notice are the doors to the nave. The stained glass in the windows on the right represent the Catholic Popes who have presided over the church since the laying of the Cathedral’s foundation stone in the 1850s. The windows to the left represent the Bishops and Archbishops who have presided over the Catholic church in Adelaide. The central doors feature Christian iconography, including the Eucharist, the symbol of Communion, and the Crucifix. A unique feature among these is the city’s Coat of Arms.
To the right of the altar at the front of the cathedral is a small chapel. The chapel was built in 1859 and is dedicated to the Patron Saint of the church, St Francis Xavier. Two Saints, St Lawrence and St Patrick, feature in the stained glass windows of the chapel and are an acknowledgement of the second and third Bishops of Adelaide. Made locally in South Australia in 1892, they are the oldest windows within the cathedral.
Located behind the altar at the front of the church is the east stained glass window. It is the largest example of stained glass in the city. Traditionally, the altar would be located at the eastern end of the church so that the rising sun would shine through the main window. As it was expected that the cathedral would be added to in stages over a number of years, the east and west windows were actually placed on the north and south walls of the building, as these sections of the church’s structure were not expected to change with the additions!
The east window features six Biblical scenes from the New Testament and significant events from the lives of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. The glass was created and purchased from the Melbourne firm, Brooks-Robinson in 1930. Notably, the glass was not installed into the wall of the cathedral, but sits in front of a set of existing windows which offer protection from the outside.
On the opposite wall of the cathedral is the Rose Window, which is commonly found in Gothic-style churches. Rose windows are often circular, representating the shape of the flower. The centre of the cathedral’s Rose Window features a blazing sun, which is circled by four seraphims that are further surrounded by eight angels.The windows on each of the four sides represent St Mark, St Matthew, St Luke and St John.
Along the bottom of the Rose Window are a set of six lancet windows which depict St Patrick, St Thomas Aquinas, St Joseph, St Peter, St Catherine of Siena and St Francis Xavier. These windows were designed by London firm, C.E. Kemp and were donated to the cathedral by prominent South Australian businessman, Count Thomas O’Loughlin in memory of his wife, Kitty.
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St Francis Xavier's Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Adelaide, South Australia. It is classified as being a Gothic Revival building in the Early English style. The tower stands 36 m high and is 56.5 m lengthwise and 29.5 m horizontally. The foundation stone was laid in 1856, and construction of the tower began in 1887. However, it was not completed until 1996.
History
In 1838, two years after the proclamation of South Australia, an advertisement was put up to organise religious meetings for South Australian Catholics. The first Mass was celebrated in a house on East Terrace in 1840. In 1845, a Catholic primary school was set up and used as the religious centre for Catholics until the foundation stone for a cathedral was laid in 1851 for a design by Richard Lambeth. However, with a gold rush in Victoria, Lambeth left along with many of the population, leaving no plans and with the community in economic depression.
The original foundation stone was put in place on 17 March 1856 by the vicar general, Father Michael Ryan, with the first part of the cathedral being dedicated on 11 July 1858. It was first extended when construction began at the southern end of the cathedral, including the sanctuary, side chapel, lady chapel and sacristy in January 1859. Construction of the first extension finished the following year in November 1860. With further growth in the population of Adelaide, another extension was required to seat more worshippers. In November 1886, Bishop Reynolds laid the foundation stone for an extension on the eastern side for a further 200 people, as well new vestries and confessionals. These were completed in August the following year. In 1904, electric lighting was introduced.
The cathedral was expanded again in 1923, with extensions to the western aisle and northern end of the bell tower, and was opened in April 1926 by Archbishop Spence. The cornerstone of the current bell tower was laid in 1887, and although the lower part was built between 1923 and 1926 it was not completed until 1996 by the architect Lynton Jury, 109 years after construction of the tower commenced. The bell used in the tower is the Murphy Bell of 1867, surrounded by thirteen other bells hung for change ringing, installed in 1996, seven of these bells date from 1881 and were previously in St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney. The bells are rung by members of The Australian and New Zealand Association of Bellringers. The cathedral suffered significant damage in the 1954 Adelaide earthquake.
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