New saints from St Mary Cathedral to arrive in Sydney soon

Eight one-meter high carvings, handmade and polychromed in the GRANDA workshops in Madrid, will soon arrive in Sydney (Australia) to occupy the empty niches of one of the side altarpieces of Sydney St Mary's Cathedral.

It is about eight sculptures of different saints who for their devotion, dedication, sacrifice and strong beliefs have marked a milestone in history. They are St. Catherine of Siena, St. Maria Goretti, St. Teresa of Avila, Mother Teresa of Calculta, St. Hildegard von Bingen, St. Mary of the Way, St. Monica and St. Teresa Benedictina of the Way.also known as Edith Stein.

This is the first of several orders received by the Diocese of Sydney in Granda since the archbishop of the city, George Pellannounced its intention to carry out the restoration, cleaning and conservation of both the exterior and interior of the cathedral, returning the temple to its former grandeur.

The St Mary's Cathedral is the cathedral-church of the Archdiocese of Sydney, home of the Catholic Archbishop of the city, Cardinal George Pell. The cathedral is dedicated to Mary Help of Christians, patron saint of Australia. It is, therefore, the National Catholic Shrine of Australia.

The first stone of the present cathedral was laid by Archbishop Polding in 1868. It was to be a huge and ambitious structure, with a wide nave and three towers. Polding did not live to see the cathedral completed as he died in 1877. The decoration and enrichment of the cathedral continued under the direction of successive architects.

In 2000, with the help of a government grant to commemorate the new millennium, the towers designed by William Wardell were completed. In 2008the cathedral became the central focus of the World Youth Day 2008 and visited by Pope Benedict XVI.