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Around 30% of 756 convicts were baptised and catholic but there were mostly Irish Catholics -
Governer Phillip made all convicts attend Sunday church even if they were catholic some refused and they were flogged some even burnt the church down -
All of the British prisons were over flowing with convicts so they had to be transported to the great Southern land to make more room sadly 90% of the indigenous population had to be wiped out so that meant they would loose there land -
As the convicts eagerly continued to ask for a priest to do the sacraments
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NSW needed permission from the British authorities. As the governor’s before had refused to the request of catholic clergy -
There was only one way for the catholic convicts to keep there faith was saying their traditional prayers and some from mass -
The king trusted that he would be able to conduct a school in NSW as well as a priest 1798 to 1800 -
Finally a real catholic mass occurred in the great southern land 15th of may 1803. But not only that Father Dixon was also doing marriages and baptisms. They also do early church now.