St Mark’s Cathedral

Since 1875 there has been a Church on this site. In 1881 a more permanent Church was built. The stone on the north side of the Church dated 1911 marked the extension and completion of St Mark’s Church.

St Mark’s Church in Port Pirie was destroyed in a disastrous fire in 1947. Because of rigorous post-war building restrictions, nothing could be done immediately to restore the church and when this became possible, it was decided to rebuild it as the Cathedral of the Diocese.

The Cathedral stands on the exact site of the old church, the walls of the church and the hall behind becoming the walls of the Cathedral.

The Diocese of Port Pirie began as the Diocese of Port Augusta in 1887, under Bishop O’Reily. Successive Bishops lived at Pekina and Peterborough and it was in 1951 that Bishop McCabe announced the change of name of the Diocese, that the Bishop’s official residence would be at Port Pirie and that St. Mark’s would become the Cathedral.

Before this could be carried out, Bishop McCabe was transferred to the Diocese of Wollongong and it was left to his successor, Bishop Gallagher, to take up residence in Port Pirie and to oversee the completion of the Cathedral which was blessed and opened on 1st March 1953 by a former Bishop of the Diocese, Cardinal Gilroy of Sydney.