St. Francis Xavier's Cathedral, Adelaide

In Adelaide, South Australia, St. Francis Xavier's Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral. It is classified as Gothic Revival architecture in the Early English style, which was popular from the late 12th century to the mid-17th century. Cathedrals and churches are among the most renowned examples of the type. The tower is 36 meters tall, 56.5 meters long, and 29.5 meters wide. The building's foundation stone was placed in 1856, and it was completed in 1858. The tower's construction began in 1887. It was not completed until 1996, however.

While St. Francis Xavier's Cathedral has served as the heart of Catholicism in Adelaide for more than 150 years, it was not the city's first Catholic church. At the time, Catholics made up around 15% of the population at the time, and they were nearly entirely poor Irish migrants. The early Catholic Church struggled financially because so few of these migrants possessed great wealth. Adelaide's first Catholic bishop, Dr. Francis Murphy, dissatisfied with the church's facilities in Adelaide, set out to build a splendid cathedral. Murphy returned from England in 1846 with a design by famed English architect Charles Hansom after a journey to England to raise funds for the project.

Address: 39 Wakefield St, Adelaide SA 5000, Australia

Year of Construction: 1856