The Catholic Church In Australia By chriszone4 Nov 13, 1778 First Mass Said on Australian Soil. Nov 13, 1802 Christian Brothers Founded by Edmund Rice, Ireland. Nov 13, 1803 First Public Mass, by Fr. Recevuer. Nov 13, 1820 Father Thierry and Conolly, First Official Priests arrive. Nov 13, 1821 Construction of First catholic church in Richmond, Tasmania Nov 13, 1833 Fr. Ullathorne arrives in Sydney as Vicar-General Nov 13, 1835 Bede Polding becomes Australia's first Catholic bishop Nov 13, 1845 John Brady Appointed Bishop Of Perth Nov 13, 1845 Archbishop Polding complains of injustice to Aborigines at NSW Parliamentary Committee Meeting. Nov 13, 1852 Fr. Henry Backhaus begins to say Mass in a tent on the goldfields of Bendigo Nov 13, 1865 St. Mary's Cathedral, Sydney destroyed by fire Nov 13, 1868 Christian Brothers arrive in Melbourne and Re-building of St. Mary's Cathedral in Sydney begins Nov 13, 1871 Completion of St. Patrick's Cathedral, Ballarat. Nov 13, 1877 Roger Vaughan O.S.B becomes Archbishop of Sydney. Nov 13, 1885 Archbishop Moran made Cardinal Nov 13, 1909 Death of Mary McKillop Nov 13, 1913 Arrival of Archbishop Daniel Mannix in Melbourne Nov 13, 1922 Foundation of the Knights of the Southern Cross Nov 13, 1923 Archbishop Mannix founds Corpus Christi College Nov 13, 1934 National Eucharistic Congress, Melbourne Nov 13, 1942 Japanese invasion of New Guinea, over 100 Catholics martyred during Japanese occupation for continuing to catechise. Nov 13, 1946 Archbishop Gilroy becomes first Australian Cardinal Nov 14, 1950 Bishop Gsell of Darwin awarded the Cross of the L‚gion d'Honneur by the French government Nov 14, 1963 Death of Archbishop Mannix