The BVM, V&A, and the B-E-A-C-H

I can’t get enough of good churches, so after our visit to the Anglican Cathedral, we embarked on a morning visit to Saint Mary’s Roman Catholic Cathedral.

Let me tell you, folks, with all due respect to the Blessed Mother, that joint was jumpin’! There was a special mass for the girls’ parochial schools in Sydney still going on when we arrived. There were literally hundreds of Catholic school girls in a myriad of uniforms, with teachers, in the cathedral and a growing number of tourists and parishioners waiting to get inside. I took a few exterior shots while waiting.

This Cathedral is massive, as was St. Andrew’s. They rival their European counterparts.

A touching memorial to the victims of the Armenian genocide that occurred over a century ago. Like the Holocaust, we must never forget.

This huge courtyard is part of the Cathedral.

This Cathedral is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is a beautiful and peaceful place. I noticed that it seems to be a place where the Catholic community embraces both the old and the new. For instance it has embraced the terminology of “Reconciliation” over “Confession” for the sacrament that many will remember as an encounter with a priest in a darkened box. After the Second Vatican Council, this terminology was changed in many progressive Catholic communities, and the process was made more welcoming. Yet, I am sure more traditional leaning Catholics are comforted by the stature of Saint John Paul II (known as John Paul the Great) who did much to bring back a more conservative way of practicing the faith.

I have, of course, some pictures of a few of the lovely stained-glass windows inside this beautiful edifice.

The altar of Saint Mary’s. Much more traditional than our last stop, representing the Roman tradition’s deep devotion to the mass as a sacrifice and the belief in the transubstantiation of the bread and wine into the body and blood of Jesus.

Just across the road from the Cathedral we found a familiar royal pair immortalized in “statuary form.”

And then, it was off to the Sydney Botanical Gardens. These gardens are huge and lovely to stroll through. It was a very warm day and these few photos do not do the gardens progress, but we had one more stop to make, so here we go!

And last but not least, my pal of nearly half a century and long-suffering ‘fellow traveler,’ Steve. He puts up with my crankiness with good spirits and has not killed me yet-A true friend.

After a brief ferry ride, we arrived at Manley for an afternoon at the beach. Manley is a beach town that has a small town feel to it. The beachfront has a promenade with plenty of space for walkers and bikers, a wide swathe of sand and some great waves hitting the shore. On the day we were there, there were some people hang gliding and landing on the beach!