Australian diocese unveils new cathedral as archbishop prepares for Rome

SYDNEY — An Australian diocese north of Sydney is building the countryʼs first purpose-built Catholic cathedral in more than 100 years, appointing an award-winning architect to design a sprawling precinct that will house everything from the bishopʼs seat to a parish hall and disability services.

The Diocese of Broken Bay announced April 14 that it has appointed London-based Níall McLaughlin Architects to design the new cathedral and surrounding campus at Waitara, on Sydneyʼs upper north shore. The diocese describes the project as the first Roman Catholic cathedral in Australia in more than a century to be master-planned from inception as a complete, integrated complex.

The announcement was the final major project decision taken under Archbishop Anthony Randazzo before his expected relocation to Rome.

Pope Leo XIV named Randazzo, 59, prefect of the Vaticanʼs Dicastery for Legislative Texts on March 25, the feast of the Annunciation, also granting him the personal title of archbishop. He continues to serve as apostolic administrator of Broken Bay until the move.

“While my responsibilities have expanded to serve the universal Church in Rome, my commitment to this vision is unwavering,” Randazzo said in a statement issued through the diocese. “The appointment of Níall McLaughlin Architects signals we are moving ahead with confidence to create a community legacy for generations to come.”

The 7.7-hectare Cathedral Precinct Project will succeed the dioceseʼs current cathedral, Our Lady of the Rosary, which was designated as the bishopʼs seat in February 2008 after succeeding the smaller Corpus Christi Church at St. Ives.

The new precinct will rise on the same Yardley Avenue site and integrate the existing St. Leoʼs Catholic College campus, a pastoral center, parish hall, a new home for the diocesan charity CatholicCare, residences for the bishop and clergy, and diocesan offices.

Erected as a diocese in April 1986 by Pope John Paul II, Broken Bay this year marks its 40th anniversary and serves around 250,000 Catholics across 26 parishes spanning Sydneyʼs North Shore, the Northern Beaches, and the upper Central Coast — a territory of 2,763 square kilometers (1,067 square miles).

A ‘virtuous circle’ of faith and education

In its own communications, the diocese has framed the project around what it calls a “virtuous circle” of Catholic life — the integration of liturgy, formation, and education on a single site, from baptism through secondary schooling.

The architectural concept draws on the natural setting of the Hawkesbury River, which unites the dioceseʼs parishes, and on the local sandstone bluffs of the surrounding bushland.

Renderings released by the practice show twin slender sandstone-clad spires rising above a public forecourt, with a timber-framed entrance portal centered on a cross. Inside, an exposed lattice of cross-braced timber members vaults the length of the nave, with raw sandstone walls and geometric stained glass.

The diocese said the design draws explicitly on the spirit of Laudato Si’, the 2015 encyclical of Pope Francis on care for creation, prioritizing sustainable timber and stone and preserving the existing Blue Gum High Forest on the site as a public amenity.

A practice known for sacred architecture

Níall McLaughlin Architects, established in 1990, was selected following an invited international design process. Its founder, the Irish-born and London-based Níall McLaughlin, received the Royal Institute of British Architects’ Royal Gold Medal in January — one of the disciplineʼs highest international honors, awarded annually in recognition of a lifetime contribution to architecture.

The practice has built several sacred and contemplative spaces, including the Bishop Edward King Chapel for Ripon College in Oxford, a 2013 Stirling Prize finalist; the New Library at Magdalene College, Cambridge; and the Auckland Castle Faith Museum in northern England.

In February the firm was announced as winner of the international competition to design the Museum of Jesus’ Baptism at Bethany Beyond the Jordan, the UNESCO World Heritage site on the east bank of the River Jordan traditionally identified as the place of Christʼs baptism. That museum is targeted to open in 2030 to mark the bimillennial of the baptism of Jesus.

McLaughlin spoke about the Broken Bay project on April 14 at the Rothwell Public Lecture series at the University of Sydney. “We are delighted to work on this significant project to help create an enduring spiritual, civic, and cultural precinct that places the faithful at its center,” he said.

The Australian firm Hayball has been appointed as executive architect on the project. Funding will be drawn from a combination of institutional capital and a dedicated philanthropic appeal, and the diocese said design work will now move into approval pathways that will determine the construction timeline.

Source: https://www.ewtnnews.com/world/asia-pacific/sydney-s-broken-bay-diocese-unveils-new-cathedral-as-archbishop-prepares-for-rome