Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Waterloo turns 150

Father John Knight said all are welcome to join the party from 11am with a visit by the Catholic Archbishop of Sydney Cardinal George Pell and other exciting events planned.

Father Knight said the church was founded on the promise of then Archbishop of Sydney John Bede Polding, who vowed to dedicate a church to Our Lady of Mount Carmel if he survived a treacherous sea voyage from Perth to Sydney. He survived and founded the church on the hill closest to St Mary’s Cathedral.

The church was never finished, it lacks a spire and tower.

But it has been elevated to the status of a shrine and place of pilgrimage, Father Knight said.

“Most of the parish are from Waterloo, Alexandria and Zetland,’’ he said. “It is a very diverse parish with many public housing tenants and Indigenous people.’’

The church also supports a primary school with about 60 per cent Indigenous students.

Source: http://sydney-central.whereilive.com.au/news/story/our-lady-of-mount-carmel-in-waterloo-turns-150/