St. Ignatius Construction Timeline

Construction Timeline
4 August 1867, Dr. John Bede Polding, the first bishop of the Catholic Church in Australia blessed and laid the foundation stone of the church. In March 1870, the ceremony for the nave, tower and aisles opened. The transept of the church started to be built in 1885 and finished in 1888. In 1894, the whole church was completed except the spire. In 1927, the spire was placed and blessed by the Papal Legate in October 1928.1

Location
St. Ignatius occupies the dominant place at on Richmond Hill. The hill-top geographical location permits it to be venerated from many vantage points. Thus St. Ignatius is a well-recognised landmark in the northeastern city.

When I stepped into the church, I feel the sense of thanksgiving.

Ignatius seems similar to the Cathedral. It is Wardell’s Cathedral in a smaller scale. This church is built in the 13th century French Gothic Style. However, some of the characteristics can be specified as Early English style with minimal decoration. Like De Jong indicates “In his Victorian parish churches Wardell clearly mastered the forms of early English, and a certain gracious form of decorated Gothic, thus highlighting that he was capable of adapting the true principles of medieval Gothic to modern needs. ”

Dimensions

Wardell wanted a tower about 25 meters high with the similar spire height. After the construction of the church, it was found out the combination of the tower and the spire reached a height about 65 meters in total. The dimensions of St. Ignatius are 80 meters long and around 20 meters wide of nave and aisles including the wall thickness. The length of the transept is 42.5 meters and there are 19.8 meters from floor to ridge of the roof.

I totally agree what Michael McGirr says, “It is a wonderful building that can make the great seem small and the small seem great.”

Moore, Brian, and St. Ignatius' Church. St. Ignatius', Richmond, Victoria / [text, Brian Moore]. [Richmond, Vic.: St. Ignatius',