St Stephens Cathedral: Catholic Church

On the 15^th of February the year 10 History classes went on an excursion to the St Stephens Cathedral in Brisbane City. As soon as we arrived at the Cathedral all you could notice was the enormous size of the church and you could also see that it was very old, it was built in 1853 so it is 158 years old. Later on we learnt that the church took 11 years to build and that it was a very expensive job. When we entered the church the first thing that I noticed was how high the roof was from the ground. As I looked around the cathedral I could see lots of stain glass windows, rows of pews and mainly the stage. 

When we all took a seat the priest told us a few things about the catholic religion. He told us that before a person could receive the Holy Spirit they had to be baptized, you could be baptized at any age at all. He also went on to say that they believe even people who have never heard of Jesus go into heaven because they have not been given the opportunity. After he told us these things it was time for the mass to begin. I hadn’t noticed this but as the priest was talking to us around twenty people or so had entered the church waiting for the mass to begin.

 When the mass began the priest walked on the stage wearing a green robe. He wore green because it was a standard service and green signifies hope. On different days they were different coloured robes. For example on a religious holiday like Easter or Christmas the priest wears white but on an anti-religious holiday they wear red. As the mass started everyone stood up and started to pray, all their prayers were prewritten of a pamphlet which everyone received before the mass. The pamphlet contained all of scripture verses  and prayers. All of the over 20 or so people who were with us all knew what to say and as the priests said it, so did they. After a few more bible readings were read and some prayers the priest announced it was time for Holy Communion. The priest explained to us that only Catholics could receive Holy Communion and that non-Catholics got blessed by the priests instead. So after the Catholics received their Holy Communion and the non-Catholics got blessed people started to exit the cathedral and we split up into groups and got ready for the tour. One thing I noticed about the mass was that there was no music at all. I was expecting there to be lots of melodies and hymns but there was not a single one.

 When the tour guide arrived he told us a brief history of the church. He told us how old it was and how long it took to build also he pointed out a bell which in the olden days was used to signify the start of church. We also were told that it is the first Catholic Church in Brisbane. We went inside the church and he told us that the stain-glass windows were used to tell the story of the New Testament for people who could read. Back in the olden days it was common for the priest to be the only one who knew how to read so the windows told the story for them. The main stain-glass window at the top of the church was easily the biggest of them all. It showed some of the 12 disciples and in the centre of the window was St Stephen. He was put in the middle to signify the cathedral. The window is worth $5 million today, which is part of the reason the church was very expensive to build.