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St John's Pro-Cathedral
18 Victoria Avenue Perth - earliest Roman Catholic church building in WA. A pro-cathedral is used when the cathedral is not yet available. This building is now in use as a museum.
File:Freotopia churches img stjohnsmercedes.jpg
Heritage Council:
History
The first Roman Catholic Church built in Perth. St. John's Pro-Cathedral was constructed in 1843/4 following a request by Fr John Brady for land for a Roman Catholic Church. The church was constructed on land to the south east of the church square that was set aside for the proposed construction of a Roman Catholic Cathedral. The church was named after St. John the Evangelist and later designated a Pro-Cathedral. The convent of the Sisters of Mercy was established on the adjacent land. The church was later used as a school room and was restored in 1977.
Statement of Significance
The first and oldest Roman Catholic Church in Western Australia.
The place is associated with the establishment of the Roman Catholic Church and the first religious orders in the State.
The place is held in high regard by present day Catholics.
The place has scientific significance because it has the potential to demonstrate vernacular construction techniques used in the mid-nineteenth century.
The place is one of the few remaining colonial buildings in Perth from the first half of the nineteenth century.
Physical Description
Small church with a shingled gabled roof and Gothic arched windows. Building has been rendered externally.
References and Links
Wikipedia page, whence the photo.
Perth Art Glass, who restored the window glass.
This page incorporates material from Garry Gillard's Freotopia website, that he started in 2014 and the contents of which he donated to Wikimedia Australia in 2024. The content was originally created on 16 August, 2022 and hosted at freotopia.org/churches/stjohnsmercedes.html (it was last updated on 19 November, 2023), and has been edited since it was imported here (see page history). The donated data is also preserved in the Internet Archive's collection.