Cathedral of St Stephen, Brisbane

The Cathedral of St Stephen is the heritage-listed cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane and seat of its archbishop.The cathedral is located on a site bounded by Elizabeth, Charlotte and Edward Streets, in the Australian city of Brisbane, Queensland. Built between 1864 and 1922, with extensions made in 1989, the cathedral was established with James Quinn as its first bishop. Quinn planned to construct a large cathedral to accommodate a growing congregation. On 26 December 1863, the Feast of St Stephen, Quinn laid the foundation stone for a grand cathedral designed by Benjamin Backhouse. Backhouse's original design was changed and downsized numerous times over the course of the cathedral's completion, mainly for economic reasons.DescriptionSt Stephen's is a gothic revival cathedral with a cruciform shape in plan. While this is a plain cathedral by comparison it still has a selection of striking features such as the spire topped sandstone towers, imported stained glass windows from Munich, the organ, the altar and the newer Blessed Sacrament Chapel at the rear of the building. Of particular note is the stained glass window by Harry Clarke, known as the "Mayne" window, which is located above the sanctuary on the east wall. The cathedral is made predominantly of Brisbane tuff and freestone. The Blessed Sacrament Chapel is made from reinforced concrete and the restored spires from glass reinforced concrete.