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The first mass was celebrated by Abbe Mones, La Perouse's chaplain.
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This first official public mass was held in Sydney and was conducted by convict priest, Fr Dixon. It was conducted under strict government supervision and was a significant event for the Catholic Worshipers as an act of emancipation.
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Australia's first official priests were Fr John Therry and Fr Philip Conolly.
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The First Catholic School was opened in Paramatta by Fr John Therry. The school was called Parramatta Marist High.
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The First Catholic Church in Tasmania was built by Father Connolly.
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Mary MacKillop and Fr Julian Tenison Woods shared the want to do something for poor children who couldn't afford to pay the money needed to go to school. So, together they started St Joseph's School. The school was in an old stable.
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The first sister in Australia was Mary MacKillop. She also became Mother Superior of the Sisters of St Joseph.
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NSW Catholic Bishops issue a Joint Pastoral Letter stating that Catholics must send their children to Catholic schools unless given special dispensation by their parish priest.
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Mary's death is unknown. She was buried in Sydney's historic Gore Hill Cemetery. In present day, a memorial marks the spot where she once lay. Five years after her death, her body was transferred to the newly built Mary MacKillop Chapel in the grounds of the North Sydney convent where she last lived.
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Pope Penedict visited Australia to attend World Youth Day 2008, which was hosted by the Archdiocese of Sydney.
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The Holy Father Pope Francis appointed George Cardinal Pell as Prefect of the new Secretariat for the Economy at the Vatican.
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Cardinal Pell appeared before the Royal Commission into Institutionalised Responses to Child Sexual Abuse and was questioned by the commission about his role in instructing lawyers to defend the Church against abuse claims.
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The Most Rev Anthony Fisher was appointed by the Holy Father Pope Francis. The installation took place at St Mary's Cathedral.
