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Our Lady of the Southern Cross Parish > Our Church

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“From the Earth we have elevated a gracious space, where shadows become light, where straight lines become curves and doubt will be reformed by the love and connection within this place. Joining now a long history in Church design, this architecture utilises sacred geometry where Heaven as a circle meets the Earth as a square.”

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A New Community

“Here in each curve, God’s omniscience flows through the design, from every direction, with Heaven gloriously displayed as an interior sculpture in the dawn light from the East, and as a long sunset from the west on the longest days of the year.

These large praying hands which surround the Church are pieces of the Heavenly circle of life, where on entry and exit, they are not only both part of Heaven and part of the Church but also part of the community as their sculptural presence quietly conveys the very special purpose of this place.

This design was conceived especially for this community, a new community, where the Our Lady of the Southern Cross will be both a place of worship and a foundation for the diverse Catholic education and living within it. In its lines – architectural, musical and liturgical – we will make this church community stronger through our shared experiences here. It was a deeply moving experience to design this Church, and our team has been humbled in steering this journey to this celebration in today’s special ceremony”. (Words spoken by Louisa Carter, Architect from GHD, on the opening and consecration of the new Church, 1st September, 2017)

Art Work within our church

The painted and mosaic art is the work of Slovenian Jesuit, Marko Rupnik which is unique in Australia.

His iconography is supported by the red marble from France and white marble from Sardinia covering the floors; the altar, ambo, chair and font cut from Jerusalem stone; and the pews of beechwood from Germany’s Black Forest.

The mosaic art begins at the front door with the Samaritan woman at the well. The aisle to the altar brings us to the mosaic of the Wedding feast at Cana, flanked by two angles.

The sweeping arches and curves in the design create an apse and play with the form of the ceiling. A mosaic of the baptism of Christ accompanies the font.

The disciples on the way to Emmaus, rendered in mosaic, lead people into the chapel where the Blessed Sacrament is reserved. Finally the tabernacle itself, in brilliant enamel, is set against the backdrop of the heavenly Jerusalem.

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