St Francis Xavier Cathedral

Lame. City of Churches. Lame!
It sounds terrible. It looks terrible on paper. But when you have a Cathedral like this in a city as tiny as ours, you can’t remain terribly angry at the old moniker. Of course, according to my understanding, MOST cities have a Roman Catholic cathedral. And I can’t tell you how this one stacks up against any others. But I CAN tell you it’s one of the prettiest buildings in Adelaide.
The St Francis Xavier Cathedral is mainly a destination to soak up in a little personal melodrama. Nothing beats Gothic architecture. Nothing. Except bulldozers. And maybe natural disasters. But there aren’t a lot of natural disasters in Adelaide, and I don’t think they’ll be bulldozing this baby anytime soon, which means this grand display of the Neo-​Gothic is pretty darn powerful.
It feels jolly well marvelous to stand in the centre of the great hall and (preferably when there isn’t a great lot of witnesses standing around) spread your arms wide to rotate about and soak up the atmosphere. For a gentleman like myself, who, were he NOT a Christian, would have no reason to visit churches and, WERE he a Christian, wouldn’t see that his worship was any better conducted within a church than without it, this place is all about the atmosphere.
And to that end, it provides.

The city of Adelaide has a long held reputation as the ‘City of Churches’ and when you visit St Francis Xavier Cathedral in Wakefield Street, you’ll understand why.
St Francis Xavier, in my opinion is one of our prettiest and most idyllic churches. Whether or not you’re of the Catholic faith, a trip inside the Cathedral is quite an ethereal experience. You can’t help but admire the architecture of the beautiful interior and no matter your faith (or lack of) it provides a place for private reverie that is matched by few others. Not only is there an actual quiet inside, there is an amazing mood of hushed calm. Despite my feeling of calm and quiet, the ‘owners’ themselves describe it as a busy place as it is after all a parish church and it is true because there’s always an abundance of people inside — they’re just really people in quiet reflection.
Construction on the Cathedral began in 1851 and it has undergone a variety of changes and additions over the years. The installation of the tower didn’t happen until quite recently in 1996. Interestingly the Cathedral wasn’t considered ‘finished’ until the tower was completed which meant the ceremonial dedication didn’t happen until almost a century and half after construction had begun.
The church is open from 7.30 in the morning until 6.30 at night, 7 days a week and everyone is welcome to visit. There are several Mass services daily as well as Rosary and Confessions and the Church is available for weddings, baptisms and funerals. Alternatively if you don’t want to be involved in any of the formal services, you can take a self guided tour at your leisure using one of the brochures available in the vestibule. Photographs are allowed — I would however take care using a flash if people are in the midst of prayer — and they do ask that you turn off your mobile phone.