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Produced and published by the School of Historical & Philosophical Studies, The University of Melbourne
Published July 2008
Published July 2008
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One of Melbourne's oldest Catholic churches, the bluestone building at 631 Bourke Street, designed by T.A. Kelly, was opened in 1867 as a chapel of ease of St Francis' Church to serve the residents in the city's west. Its early link with the seafarers and others who worked on the nearby docks is marked by an anchor and plaque in the small garden. Now surrounded by nightclubs and office blocks, the church has maintained a worshipping congregation by serving as a centre for the Catholic Charismatic Renewal movement.