ST MARY MacKillop was proclaimed the patron saint of the Catholic diocese of Parramatta at a Mass last week.
The faithful had gathered in their hundreds in St Patrick's Cathedral last Thursday, May 19, to celebrate the 25th birthday of the diocese.
There Bishop Anthony Fisher told them that Pope Benedict XVI had approved Saint Mary of the Cross as heavenly Patron of Parramatta.
The bishop said the diocese had much to be thankful for to Mary and her Josephite sisters for including "the network of schools that they established here and for the witness of their consecrated life".
He told the Sun after Mass of his first year in charge of Australia's youngest and fastest-growing diocese.
He said he was surprised and buoyed by the young people at Mass — more than in other areas he had served in.
"In Mass I hear lots of babies crying," he said. "I love it."
The bishop said it was difficult finding enough churches and schools to accommodate the Catholic growth in the Parramatta area.
"In the old days the men would get together and build churches, but now that's illegal," he said.
"When you opened up a school you had access to an order of nuns, basically a free labour force.
"Now we have financial and logistical considerations."
Bishop Fisher said he was looking "outside the square to accommodate the Parramatta Catholic of the 21st Century".'
"Should we have a chapel in Westfield?" he said.
"It's something we have to look at."
The bishop said that the expense of renting space in Westfield would probably be the biggest obstacle to any chapel in the shopping centre.
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