Diocesan News
Bishop Paul Bird CSsR celebrated Mass on Wednesday, November 19, 2025 for the Anniversary of the Dedication of our diocesan Cathedral. Fr Ed Moloney, Cathedral Administrator, concelebrated Mass and Simon Zakari, Seminarian, served as Altar Server.
The anniversary of the dedication of the Cathedral is celebrated as a solemnity in the cathedral itself and as a feast in other churches of the diocese (Ordo 2025, page 6). The Mass for the Dedication of a Church on the Anniversary of the Dedication was used for this celebration and the readings were: First Reading – 1 Kings 8:22-23, 27-30 (Let your eyes watch over this house); Second Reading – Ephesians 2:19-22 (All grow into one holy temple in the Lord); and Gospel – John 2:13-22 (He spoke about the temple of his own body).
Included in the rite for the dedication of a church is, “The lighting of the altar, which is followed by the lighting of the church, reminds us that Christ is ‘a light to enlighten the nations’ (Lk 2:32); his brightness shines out in the Church and through it in the whole human family.” (Taken from the Dedication of a Church and Altar Rites). There were many candles lit in various places of the Cathedral for this Mass – a very nice tribute to the Anniversary Mass.
The official opening of the church was in 1871 and when the Diocese of Ballarat was formed in 1874, the first Bishop, Dr Michael O’Connor, chose it for his Cathedral. When St Patrick’s Cathedral, Ballarat was finally consecrated in 1891 by Cardinal Moran of Sydney, it was the first Catholic Cathedral consecrated in the Australian Colonies, making it today Australia’s oldest consecrated Cathedral.
At the end of Mass Bishop Paul thanked all who assisted with the music, ministries and preparation of the Cathedral for the Mass. Bishop Paul’s homily from the Mass can be read below.
