History of the Church in Australia Timeline By woode01 1788 La Perouse enters Botany Bay and his chaplain, Abbe Mones, celebrates the first Mass within Australian territory 1791 First Irish convicts transported to Botany Bay 1803 First official public mass 1819 Father John Terry and Father Phillip Conolly arrive in Sydney as Australia's first-ever priests. 1845 Father John Brady consecrated as Bishop of Perth, moves from Windsor to Western Australia 1851 St Mary’s Cathedral renovated. The archdiocese now has 33 parishes, 30 churches and 35 priests. 1859 Father James Quinn becomes the first bishop of Brisbane 1866 Mary Mackillop and Father Julian Tenison Woods found the Sisters of Saint Joseph 1877 Archbishop Polding passes away at age 85 1909 Mary Mackillop passes away 1911 The archdiocese now has 189 churches. Of Sydney’s 170,000 Catholics, more than 25,000 kids are enrolled at archdiocese schools 1914 World War one is declared, Catholics became more influential in Australia’s Labour party 1929 James Scullin becomes Australia's first Catholic Prime Minister 1955 Catholic schools are overwhelmed by the demand 1963 Mass changes from Latin to English 1971 The Archdiocese of Sydney now has 366 Catholic schools with over 115,704 children attending 1986 Pope John Paul visits Australia for the first time 2008 Pope Benedict XVI made his first visit to Australia when the Archdiocese of Sydney hosted World Youth Day.