St. Philip Howard Church, Kingston
| St. Philip Howard Church | |
|---|---|
St. Philip Howard Church St. Philip Howard Church | |
| 29°02′26″S 167°57′44″E / 29.040483°S 167.962149°E | |
| Location | Kingston, Norfolk Island |
| Country | Australia |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| History | |
| Founder(s) | 1959 |
| Dedication | St Philip Howard |
| Dedicated | by James Cardinal Freeman |
| Administration | |
| Archdiocese | Sydney |
The Church of Saint Philip Howard[1] is a parish of the Roman Catholic Church[2] in Kingston, Norfolk Island, currently a mission of the Archdiocese of Sydney. The parish church is located on Queen Elizabeth Avenue[3] and John Adams Road. The parish was established in 1959.
History
The Catholic history of the island goes back to 1800, when the Irish convict priests Father James Harold and Father Peter O'Neil were sent there from Sydney. Father O'Neil conducted a school.[4] Benedictine priest Father William Ullathorne visited the island on two separate occasions, and published the pamphlet "The Catholic Mission in Australasia" in 1838 exposing the poor conditions and unjust treatment of transported convicts there.[5]
The parish was established in 1959, and for many years had a resident Marist priest who took care of the community's pastoral needs.[5] Since the last Marist left in 1987, the Archdiocese has sent guest clerics to the island for stints of one or two weeks and celebrate Mass, perform baptisms, and handle similar duties.[5] The church remains a mission of St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney.[1] On weeks when no priest is on the island, the parish conducts a communion service. Only around 12% of the island is Catholic, with a smaller proportion of those people attending mass, thus congregation numbers continue to fall, sitting at around 20 people in 2015.[6]
The church was rededicated to St Philip Howard on a visit of James Cardinal Freeman. Howard was an English nobleman canonised by Pope Paul VI in 1970 as one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales.[6]
See also
References
- ^ a b "St Philip Howard Church". GCatholic. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
- ^ "Changing times at Norfolk Island, Sydney's most distant parish". The Catholic Weekly. 19 January 2015. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
- ^ "Churches on Norfolk Island". norfolkonlinenews.com. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
- ^ Parsons, Vivienne (1967). "O'Neil, Peter (1757–1835)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
- ^ a b c "Archbishop Anthony Fisher Visits Offshore Parish – CAS". sydneycatholic.org. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
- ^ a b "Changing times at Norfolk Island, Sydney's most distant parish". The Catholic Weekly. 18 January 2015. Retrieved 27 June 2025.