Cathedral nears consecration

Bunbury's new Catholic cathedral will retain the name of its predecessor and be consecrated as St Patrick’s Cathedral on March 17 — the day that celebrates the Patron Saint of Ireland.

Bishops and dignitaries from around the State will attend the consecration ceremony of the new St Patrick’s Cathedral, the first Catholic cathedral to be built in Australia for decades.

It will be a busy day for the city, as thousands of people will also gather for the popular Bunbury Cup.

The former St Patrick’s Cathedral was demolished in July 2005 after a tornado caused irreparable damage in May the same year.

Construction of the multi-million dollar replacement began in mid 2009.

Designed to withstand the tests of time for 300 years, it is estimated more than 30 million people will pass through the cathedral’s doors during its lifetime.

The city’s newest icon will accommodate 780 parishioners, surrounding them with more than 260sq m of ‘‘digiglass’’ featuring depictions by internationally recognised Australian artist Robert Juniper.

To create the digiglass windows, artwork was printed onto plastic sheets and laminated between glass with the finished product to fade less than 10 per cent over a century.

Depicting traditional Bible stories and including Australian imagery, the combined area of the state-of-the-art glass makes it one of the biggest pieces of digiglass artwork in the world.

Designed by award-winning Australian architect Marcus Collins, the landmark structure reaches 20 metres into the heavens.

Mr Collins said it was a rare honour to be given the opportunity to design a cathedral he hopes will leave visitors with a sense of ‘‘contemplative stillness’’.

‘‘Although it is a very big cathedral compared to what was there before, there’s also a simplicity to it,’’Mr Collins said.

‘‘It’s traditional in form, but very modern in its detail.’’

Once construction is complete, St Patrick’s spire will be illuminated at night, similar to Perth’s Bell Tower.