(Photo: State Library of Queensland and John Oxley Library; #7908)
Although New Farm subsequently was to build its own Catholic church, St Patrick's continued to serve a large community, predominately Irish and Italian immigrants, from the surrounding areas through to the 1950s. As with other Christian places of worship, attendances dropped off after that time, such that the parish of St Patrick's was dissolved around 1990, and the church is now run from the Cathedral of St Stephen in the city, which is only a couple of kilometres away. The cathedral's web site says "St Patrick’s Church is at the centre of a small and devoted parish community." I guess it becomes problematic for the Catholic church (and indeed, all churches) as parishes become smaller and smaller - the grounds themselves would be enormously valuable if they could be sold, but the heritage listing of the church would prevent any major development there.

In any case, this is what St Patrick's looked like after mass on a recent Sunday (above). The stone exterior of the church is attractive, and the interior, including the stained-glass windows, is equally fetching. I have to agree with the rest of the words on the Cathedral's web page - "The spirit and calm of the church offers prayerful sanctuary from the business world outside."
Click here for a Google Map.
tff
Next: Interstate travel
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