Those of you who are regulars to this blog know that I written a few posts about the Festa di Madonna Di Montevergine and you may even remember that it’s held at the St Francis of Assisi Church at Newton in south Australia. I don’t believe I’ve actually ever posted a photo of the church itself, if anything apart from mentioning the Festa the only photo of the church is to one I took of the statue at the front of the church of Jesus and St Francis.

It pains me that I still have not posted a photo of the church,for which I apologize, but I do have some nice photos of a few of the religious icons that are in the church. I assume that the guy slaying the dragon is a Saint, being in the church and all but I didn’t get the chance to see who it was.

As for the next photo the statues represents St. Francis and St. Clare.

Then we have one that I particularly like.

You can almost see the sadness on Mary’s face as she cradles the dead body of her son Jesus in her arms. As for the next photo, its only on display during the Festa Di Madonna Di Montevergine.

During the Festival the Madonna is carried by four people via two poles inserted in the base from the Hectorville Church to this one. You may notice a ribbon draped on the side, that is so those who wish to can pin money to it in honor of the Madonna. For those of you who are interested this is a video of some of 2011′s Festa highlights.

The

On the way back from the Barossa we were passing through Rowland Flat just west of Tanunda when I had to pull over to take a photo of this church. The reason I pulled over is because I liked the look of the church and I thought the readers of this blog would appreciate it as well.

It’s the Trinity Lutheran Church and was built in 1956 replacing the original one of 1867. Personally I think they did a great job of retaining the view of the times, even though that may not have been their intention.

The church really is in a picturesque setting. It may not have the same quality as those basking in the sun during their st lucia holidays but it does have a charm all of its own. Standing in front of this lovely church you are presented with a breathtaking view of vineyards, serenity and all that you have become accustomed to while visiting the Barossa.

A few things you may not know about Rowland Flat.

• Its the winemaking centre for the giant Orlando wine group, the oldest winery in the Barossa Valley. Must make a point of stopping by there and trialling their restaurant and interactive winemaking display next time I’m driving through.
• Its close to Jacobs Creek which also happens to be the one of our favourite wine labels. It was Johann Gramp who planted the first commercial vines at nearby Jacob’s Creek in 1847, and forty years later his son expanded the winery and moved its current location which happens to be in, you guessed it,  Rowland Flat.

Honestly, there is so much to see in the Barossa that I reckon the family and I will have to take a long weekend break there first chance we get.

The

You may remember my post Of Flying Saucers, Rats And Ned Kelly, Scenic Sights Of Adelaide where I showed you some really cool sculptures that I came across on the way to Port Hughes, well one of the small towns I passed through was Moonta. I actually stopped there to buy some cakes to have with coffee when meeting up with our friends over at Port Hughes. If only I had known they were famous for their cornish pasties I would have bought a couple of those as well.

Moonta happens to be one of the three towns known as The Copper Triangle, the other two being Kadina and Wallarroo. Although it’s some 165 kilometres north-northwest of Adelaide it’s well worth the trip if you like checking out old towns. While there I had a quick look at the hardware store which was also the local antique store which had a lot of unique stuff I’d never seen before. It also had your normal range of antiques. I sure wish I knew more about antiques as I’m sure they would have some stuff there that might have been worth a little cash.

While there I did manage to take a couple of photos. This first one is of the Uniting Church which is at 88 Bay Rd. As you can see from the photo it’s got a real gothic appearance. Apparently it used to be a Methodist church and was built around 1873.

Another building of note is the Town Hall which also doubles as their theatre.

Looks cool doesn’t it? This building was built in 1885 and the clock tower and clock were added in 1907.

The

Just last week I was going to David Jones at West Lakes to buy my 11 inch Macbook Air. On the way there I noticed this beautiful church on Port Road. I must have driven past heaps of times before but I’ve never noticed it. I reckon that ever since starting this blog I must have become more attentive to my surroundings which is a good thing. I made a mental note to stop by on the way back to take some photos.

It turned out to be the Serbian Orthodox Church of St Sava on 675 Port Rd, Woodville Park. I found that Wikipedia had a fair bit of information on St Sava and that link will take you there. All in all it was a pretty miserable day, weather wise, but despite the rain I managed to take a few shots. This one is from the front.

This is one from the rear.

The domes weren’t the only things that stood out about this church either. There were also three intricate mosaics of their saints.

Finally I noticed a statue in front of the hall. It’s of Draža Mihailović, the Yugoslavian resistance leader.

I’ve posted some more shots of the church, specifically of the domes, on Photos2Blog.

The

I first mentioned the Catholic Church at Hectorville way back when I wrote the post on The Feast Of The Madonna Di Montevergine. Known as the Church Of Annunciation it’s located at 20 Montacute Rd, Hectorville, 5073 Australia.

This church was built in 1962 and replaced the original church that was built in 1863. I sure would have liked to see what that church looked like. Still this one has a unique look about it and the interior has some beautiful lead lighting. One of windows is 40 feet high and tells the story of the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary and Christ’s Passion.

Here are some Mass details  for those interested.

Mass: Mon – Thurs 7am; Fri 7am, 9.15am; Sat 9am, Sun 8am, 9.30am (Italian), 11am, 5.30pm, St Marks Church, Cnr Reid Ave & Harrison St, Magill, Sat Vigil: 6pm, Sun Mass: 9.30 am

The

I love churches because their architecture is wide and varied. Although it doesn’t look it the Maylands Church of Christ has been around for just over 100 years. In fact I think it had it’s 100 year anniversary only last year.

Found on the busy Portrush Rd you wouldn’t have thought that 100 years ago it was surrounded by orchards and market gardens. And yet there is sits today in the midst of all these house. I must admit that it does stand out, what with the turret type tower which has it’s names boldly printed on it with large white letters. The cross fixed boldly in the midst of the tower for all to see, shouting out to all that this building belongs to the followers of Christ.

There is one thing about these older buildings and that’s even though they didn’t have the technology we have today they still knew how to build them to last. I’m not sure if the more modern structures will stand the test of time.

The

I have often driven past this beautiful building on my way to one of the many beautiful beaches in Adelaide and I’ve often wondered what the story behind it was. It was obviously a religious building, but I was always curious as to what denomination claimed it as their own.

On this particular day I had some time to kill after dropping my daughter off for one of her university exams and so I decided to drive down and finally put my curiosity at ease.

The church, or chapel as it turns out to be, is located on Brighton Rd in the beach side suburb of Somerton Park.  This photo is what I saw every time I drove by and what I thought was just a normal church was actually the rear of the school chapel of The Sacred Heart College.

There is actually a fair bit of history behind the college and it all started in 1817 when a priest, Marcellin Champagnat, shocked by his ignorance in God started a new teaching order, the Marist Brothers.

The Sacred Heart College website is full of interesting information and I strongly suggest you go on over and have a look. For now I would like to show you other photos that I took on that day.

This is a shot of the front of this beautiful chapel. “The Sacred Heart College Memorial Chapel is a dedicated sacred building opened and blessed in 1924 as a memorial to the Old Collegians who lost their lives in the First World War.”

This is a photo of Paringa Hall, the stately Cudmore which was purchased at Easter 1914 just as World War I was getting under way. The college was transferred there when the previous grounds got to be too small.

This next one is of the entrance to Paringa Hall, which I’m sure you will agree is quite stunning.

Oh, I forgot to mention it was a Catholic school and that it had beautiful well manicured grounds. I took this shot of a statue of Jesus because I loved the way it looked with the reflection of the chapel in the background.

You can see other photos that I took of the chapel at my Photos 2 Blog blog.

The

This is a photo of the Bethlehem Lutheran Church which has it’s very own website. While their congregation first formed in 1860 and their first church was located in Waymouth St. this stunning building was erected in 1871-1872, and is located in Flinders St. Adelaide.
That has to be one of the things I like about Adelaide, the fact that as you walk around you are presented with many styles of architecture spanning over a hundred years. I always feel a pang of regret when some gracious old building is torn down to be replaced by some modern architecture which just doesn’t seem to replace the glory of the old building.

They have a pretty good website so you may want to visit it if you’re looking for more information on the church, these old photos in their archives may be of special interest.

The

This week Mary MacKillop was recognized as Australia’s first saint and I thought it only fitting that this post was dedicated to her. Although born in Melbourne of Scottish parents on the 15th Jan 1842, the majority of her good work was done right here in South Australia, in the small town of Penola.

She originally came to Penola as a governess to look after the children of her aunt and uncle, yet even then because of her want to help the poor she included other children and took them under he wing as well. After about 2 years she accepted a teaching job in Portland Victoria, but not before she was noticed by Father Julian Edmund Tenison Woods.

While teaching in Portland Father Woods encouraged Mary to open a Catholic school in Penola, which she did, along with two of her sisters, in 1866. To learn more of this truly amazing woman you should visit the Blessed Mary MacKillop site.

On March the 22nd a bronze statue commemorating Blessed Mary MacKillop was unveiled at an official blessing and dedication ceremony conducted by Archbishop Philip Wilson. As can be seen from this photo, Mary, being well known for her work with children, is holding hands with two young children.

The artist behind this sculpture is Adelaide artist Judith Rolevink, and although relatively new it is already attracting a fair bit of attention, and I’m sure that it will only increase now that the Catholic Church has recognized her as a saint. The statue sits next to the St Francis Xavier’s Cathedral.

The

The other day, because of all the stupid roadworks that was going on around South Road, I decided to take another route. I turned onto Ascot Avenue when turned into Lower Portrush Road and low and behold I saw something quite unique to what I’m used to in regard to local Church architecture. Note, at first glance it didn’t hit me as a Church at all.

I had to pull over to have a better look. It was simple but amazing at the same time. At first it seemed to be some huge monument that seemed to be built entirely from polished marble or granite.

After a bit of Googling I discovered that the Church/Temple belonged to the Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter Day Saints, the second temple built in Australia.

From the road there was a lovely statue of what could be considered a nativity scene.

I was hoping that this link would lead to mass/ worship times, but it seems that it’s very rarely open. Maybe that tap on the shoulder from the Grounds and Gardens bloke asking if I had a key to their huge manicured gardens. Unfortunately, I was just some snapping photos. I must admit though, that their grounds did look pretty cool.

The