Chapel

The Mary MacKillop Memorial Chapel

 

This impressive and historic Chapel was built in 1913 in memory of Mary MacKillop.  It has become a place of pilgrimage for thousands of people who visit her tomb to pray and reflect.  August 8th, Mary’s Feast Day, is a special day of pilgrimage/prayer each year.

 

 

The heart of Mary MacKillop Place is the Memorial Chapel, which holds the tomb of Mary MacKillop. The Mary MacKillop Memorial Chapel at Mount Street, North Sydney, was dedicated by the Very Rev Michael Kelly, Archbishop of Sydney, in 1913.

 

 

The Chapel is an imposing building. The main entrance is in Mount Street, North Sydney. Over the porch stands a statue of the Sacred Heart as this devotion is integral to the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart. Into the facade are set stone traceried windows above which are tall commanding spires of carved stone.

 

 

Inside, the Chapel building is divided into nave and aisles by white chiselled stone pillars, from which rise arches supporting the roof. The front panel of the altar contains a carved relief of white marble depicting the Last Supper.

The Tenison Woods Memorial stained glass windows are situated on the southern wall of the Chapel, these windows were made in Germany at the studios of Franz Xavier Zettler. They were installed in the Chapel in 1913 in memory of Father Julian Tenison Woods, co-founder of the Sisters of St Joseph.

 

 

Significant Dates in the Chapel

12 January 1913	The Foundation Stone of the Chapel was blessed
8 December 1913	The first Mass was celebrated
18 January 1914	The Memorial Chapel was blessed and opened by Archbishop Kelly
28 January 1914	Mary's remains were transferred from the Gore Hill Cemetery to the Chapel erected in her memory
29 January 1914	Mary MacKillop's remains were re-interred in the tomb at the front of the altar of Mary the Mother of God
2 December 1970	Pope Paul VI here addressed Major Superiors of Religious Orders on the subject of Christian Education
20 December 1993	Mary's body was placed in the present tomb to the right side of the altar
19 January 1995	Pope John Paul prayed at the tomb before the Beatification ceremony at Randwick
17 July 2008	Pope Benedict XVI prayed at the tomb during his visit to Sydney for World Youth Day.

 

For more information please see the Sisters of St Joseph website.