Happy feast day !!

9th December, 2019

And so our Cathedral celebrates its Patronal feast – the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception.

Ever since its humble early days as the building we now refer to as the ‘Pro-Cathedral’, our Cathedral has honoured Our Lady on this most special of days – her very beginning – signifying God’s promise coming true !!

What a truly wonderful day for the Cathedral to call its patronal feast – and what a great Patroness we have !!

Consider how many times the beautiful chant ‘Salve Regina’ has been sung to her in our Cathedral for over 150 years…indeed it is recorded that at the dedication of the Cathedral in 1930, the ‘prelude’ was the beloved hymn ‘Hail Queen of Heaven’ sung by school children as they processed into Victoria Square. And on this day in 1904, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the proclamation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception, the Cathedral Choir together with orchestra sang the Nelson Mass of Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) at the High Mass.

So let’s join with the voices and music of our forebears in acclaiming the Mother of God, Mary, the Immaculate Conception – and just as she is depicted in the painting in our Cathedral’s Lady Chapel, let’s lift our gaze, our voices and all our music ever upwards, just like hers, towards the Blessed Trinity – our ultimate goal.

Our Lady, pray for the wanderer, pray for your children, pray for us.

Jacinta