Parish Life

Dulwich Hill Parish is a Catholic community seeking to live the Christian life within the tradition and authentic teaching of the Catholic Church.

As a community of faith all parishioners are invited to contribute to the life of the Parish. Below are some of the activities of the Parish. These are some of the ways that members of the parish contribute towards building up the community.

Present and new parish members are invited to consider what they can contribute to at St Paul of the Cross.

• Parish Youth Group – meets regularly and participates in the monthly Youth Mass
• Italian Group - meet for Mass and prayer and provide support for people of Italian background
• Filipino Community - engages in activities to serve the Filipino community
• Novena - prayers of petition and thanksgiving to Our Lady of Perpetual Help on Wednesday evenings
• Cenacle - prayers to Our Lady, including Rosary and Consecration to the Immaculate Heart, on First Saturdays of the month
• St Vincent de Paul Society - visits the needy in their homes and offers practical support
• Social Justice Group - meets to consider and respond to issues of Social Justice, locally, nationally and internationally
• Catechists - teach Scripture lessons to children in State Schools
• Parish School (see Parish School)
• Acolytes - have the role of assisting the priest at the altar
• Readers - proclaim the Scriptures at Mass
• Communion Ministers - assist in the distribution of Holy Communion at Mass and to the sick in hospitals and homes
• Altar Servers - young people who assist the priest and acolyte at Mass
• Musicians and Singers - Serve the celebration of the Mass by contributing their skill in music.
• Cleaners - volunteer their time to prepare the Church for Sunday Mass
• Liturgical Environment - organise the presentation of the altar for the liturgy
• Collectors and Counters - assist in the collection and counting of money at the Sunday Masses
• Overhead projectionists - project the transparencies needed for major Masses
• Hospitality - provide opportunities for parish social activities
• Parish Pastoral Council: A new Pastoral Council will be established soon to assist the priest in identifying and meeting the pastoral needs of parishioners
• Parish Finance Committee - advises the Parish Priest on financial matters.

About Our Parish Church

The first parish church was built in 1907-8, when the district was under the pastoral care of the Passionist Fathers in Marrickville, who named the church after the founder of their Order, St Paul of the Cross.

The foundation stone of the present church was laid in 1925 by Archbishop Michael Kelly. For the new Parish Church the Archbishop had the title “The Immaculate Conception” added to the title “St Paul of the Cross”. The architect of the Dulwich Hill church was Mr Austin Mackay, who designed a number of other fine churches in Sydney, including Holy Cross, Woollahra, and St Anthony of Padua, Clovelly.

Our church is an interesting example of “Inter-war Romanesque”, and has some very well executed brickwork. The church has a fine bell tower, but no bells have yet been installed.

The internal decoration includes two splendid stained glass windows in the apse, depicting the Resurrection and the Ascension, and an unusual timber ceiling in the nave.

The interior configuration of the church has been altered several times since it was built. Initially, the altar from the previous church (now the parish hall) seems to have been moved into the new building. Within a few years of opening, a new marble high altar and side altars were erected, and the sanctuary was later clad with marble. A handsome marble pulpit and altar rails were subsequently provided. After the liturgical reforms of the 1960’s, the marble altar was moved forward. Later, in the 1980’s, the pulpit and side altars were demolished, the marble main altar pushed back, its exposition throne excised, and a platform with wooden altar, lectern and font placed along a side wall of the nave, with the pews facing that side. At that time the original unique hand-painted Stations of the Cross were removed and replaced by small wooden plaques. In the late 1990’s the orientation of the church was restored to the usual form and the wooden altar furniture moved to a platform just in front of the original sanctuary. New hand-painted “scriptural” Stations of the Cross were also hung.