Hobart Catholic Parish
is under the Pastoral Care of the Passionist Congregation.
Church: Corner Macquarie & Harrington Streets
Monastery: 65 Harrington Street, Hobart
Phone: (03) 6234 4866
St. Joseph’s Church is located on the corner of Macquarie & Harrington Streets in central Hobart. It is the centre of worship for Hobart Catholic Parish.
St Joseph’s is the oldest Catholic Church in Hobart. The first Mass was celebrated on Christmas Day 1841.
The Community at St Joesph’s welcomes visitors. Jo and Ros from Sydney wrote, “We want to pass on a heartfelt thanks for your warm welcome at Saturday Night Mass. Apart from Christmas Midnight Mass in Slovenia your parish has been the most welcoming we have ever encountered. I thought that you and your parishioners deserved to know how much it meant to two travellers.”
The Catholic Parish of St Joseph’s is committed to providing a safe and nurturing culture for all children and vulnerable young people in our parish.
MASS TIMES
WEEKEND
Saturday morning: 8.00 am
Saturday evening (Vigil): 6.30 pm
Sunday: 7.30 am, 9.30 am, 11.00 am
WEEKDAYS
Monday – Friday: 8.00 am, 12.10 pm
Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament normally follows the 8.00 am weekday Mass until midday when Benediction precedes the 12.10 pm Mass.
There is no Exposition or Benediction on public holidays.
Mass times are subject to change, especially during holiday periods.
Visit the Archdiocese of Hobart web site for Mass times at other Tasmanian parishes.
RECONCILIATION TIMES – Sacrament of Penance
Monday – Thursday: 12.30 – 1.00 pm
Friday: 12.30 – 1.00 pm; 5.00 – 5.30 pm
Saturday: 4.00 – 4.30 pm; 6.00 – 6.30 pm
A Little Bit of History …
RESTORATION HIGHLIGHTS: On Christmas day we celebrated the 177th birthday of St Joseph’s church and we remember with gratitude the faith of our forebears, free settlers and convicts, who are the living foundation stones upon which our church and faith is built.
Recently Gavin Merrington completed the restoration of the stained glass windows.
History of windows: The stained glass windows were installed between 1856 and 1893 and all except one were made by Hardman and Scott of Birmingham, U.K.
The pair between the chapel and the confessionals are scenes from the life of St. Joseph and were installed in 1871, one, in memory of Bishop Wilson and his Vicar-General Dr. William Hall, who both died in 1866, includes their portraits. The other is in memory of Archdeacon George Hunter ordained in this church in 1850, brother of the architect Henry Hunter.
Opposite, on the Harrington Street side, is a window in memory of Fr. John Joseph Therry, founder of this church, given by his brother in 1877. It shows St. Joseph and St. John the Baptist with Fr. Therry, wearing a cope, kneeling at his feet.
The window of the Annunciation and Nativity is the oldest and was installed in the Sanctuary wall by Bishop Willson in 1856, in memory of the English architect A. W. Pugin who had given the Bishop designs for churches. It was moved in 1877 when the chapel was built.
The window over the sacristy door in memory of Fr. Joseph Aloysius Sheehy shows St. Joseph, the Sacred Heart and St Aloysius, and was made in 1893 by Lyon, Wells and Cottier of Sydney. The Sheehy family had been connected with St. Joseph’s from the beginning.
In October 2018 a custom made cabinet was purchased by the parish for the preservation of the rare Pugin vestments which have not been in public view for a long time. We express our gratitude to the people of the Tasmanian Museum, especially Nikki Kingsmith, who provided not only advice on how we should preserve these historically important vestments but did all the ‘hands on work’ for us. Over the coming months parishioners and visitors will be given the opportunity to view these vestments alongside the chalices and significant altar ware that are part of St Joseph’s history.
All photos on this site are subject to copyright. Further information or requests for permission to use should be directed to the Parish Priest