St John's Pro Cathedral given permanent heritage listing

3/11/95

Western Australia's oldest Catholic Church has been listed on the State Register of Heritage Places.

Heritage Minister Richard Lewis said St John's Pro Cathedral in Victoria Avenue, Perth had been permanently listed following a recommendation from the Heritage Council of Western Australia.

When St John's was built in 1844, it was the first Roman Catholic Church in WA.

Mr Lewis said the church was held in high regard by today's Catholic community.

"Together with St Mary's Cathedral, Archbishop's Palace, the Convent of the Sisters of Mercy and Mercedes College, St John's forms part of a precinct of important 19th century Roman Catholic buildings around Victoria Square," he said.

In 1843, Father John Brady was sent to Perth. However, there were few Catholic settlers in the Swan River Colony.

The Minister said, despite its size, the Roman Catholic community was generous in its support of the construction of a place of worship and work began on the church in December 1843. The foundation stone was laid on January 16, 1844.

In May 1845, after a trip to Rome, Father Brady was appointed Bishop of the newly established Diocese of Perth.

He returned to Perth the next year with lay persons, six Sisters of Mercy and several priests, two of whom were the Spanish Benedictine Priests Joseph Serra and Rosenda Salvado, who later established the community of Benedictine Brothers at New Norcia.

In 1850 Joseph Serra was made Bishop of Perth and less than five years later he extended St John's to twice its original size. In 1856 a brick portico was added to the western side of the building.

Mr Lewis said St John's was the principal place of worship for the Roman Catholic Church until 1865, when the increasing size of the Catholic community necessitated the construction of the larger St Mary's Cathedral.

"After St Mary's was built, St John's was used by the Christian Brothers as a school," he said.

"It was renovated in 1881 and used by the Sisters of Mercy as the school chapel in the Mercedes College complex."

Nearly a hundred years later, in 1979-80, conservation of St John's Pro Cathedral began in celebration of WA's 150th anniversary, which returned the church to its 1856 appearance.

The Minister said the building was in a good condition and had a high degree of authenticity.

Media contact: Bronwyn Hillman 221 1377 or 222 9595