Welcome back to our Guides and Welcomers, as we commence 2026 and our mission to be the face of our sacred space.

​Mission Statement 

​​At the Cathedral of St Stephen,
​the Guides and Welcomers serve as the face of our sacred place.  
​We are committed to providing insightful information
​and aim to ensure that every visit is meaningful and memorable.
Did you know?
​St Mary of the Cross MacKillop, and five of her community, arrived in Brisbane on 31 December 1869? 
The Sisters had been invited to Queensland by Bishop Quinn to set up schools for the children of the working class and the poor. They left Adelaide on 8 December and finally disembarked from the Steamer, City of Brisbane on 31 December. The Vicar General of the Diocese, Dr. John Cani, welcomed them to Brisbane and the Sisters of Mercy provided accommodation at All Hallows for their first two weeks in Queensland. After leaving all Hallows the Sisters rented a house in Tribune Street, South Brisbane and later moved into a larger house in Montague Street, South Brisbane.
​By 1870 Mary and her sisters had established 3 schools in Brisbane - St. Mary’s South Brisbane, St. Joseph’s at One Mile Swamp, (Woolloongabba) and St John the Baptist’s in Caxton Street, North Brisbane (Petrie Terrace). They had also established a school in Maryborough. ​
​For the next ten years they continued to establish new schools (15 schools and an orphanage) and by 1880 they were teaching almost half of the number of children attending Catholic schools in Queensland.
 
However, their stay in Queensland came to an end in 1880 when Bishop Quinn asked the community to leave. He was in strong disagreement with the Josephite rule of central governance of the institute by the sisters, and their Founder, Mary MacKillop, was not persuaded by the Bishop’s arguments. The last sisters left in mid-July 1880.
It was another decade before the Josephites returned to Queensland in 1900, This time it was at the invitation of Bishop Duhig, the newly appointed Bishop in the newly formed Diocese of Rockhampton.
Mary MacKillop expressed her joy in a letter written in September, 1890.
“I am glad to think that the sisters will be back in dear old Queensland once more.” 
A reminder of Mary MacKillop’s enduring influence in “dear old Queensland” can be found in the many works of art dedicated to her in the Cathedral precinct.
DO YOU KNOW SOMEONE WHO WOULD LIKE TO JOIN US AS A GUIDE OR WELCOMER?
As you know being a Guide and Welcomer is a wonderfully rewarding and enriching experience.  If you know someone who may be interested in joining the Cathedral Guides or Welcomers, they may register their interest by emailing  C[email protected] or by completing an Enquiry Form, by clicking on the link below. ​