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The first Roman Catholic Church was built on the site of Our Lady of Lourdes Church in 1938. Fr James Brosnan was later appointed First Parish Priest of St Theresa & Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, on Sunday 2 January 1955, at the time when Archbishop Duhig had established Sunnybank Parish out from the Parish at Moorooka. ‘Roman Catholicism’, as it was more commonly termed in this era, continued to be largest of the Christian denominations worldwide, but Catholic congregations in Australia perceived themselves as a persecuted sizable minority in a Protestant country. Large sections of Protestant denominations did actively discriminate against Catholic citizens, in a sectarian age which only ended in the mid-1960s (positive reception of the World Council of Churches to Vatican II reforms). In these earlier epochs, Catholicism represented to the majority Protestant population, at best, a misled version of Christianity, and at worse a demonic conspiracy against the true Christian faith. Catholic congregations transversed that same analysis, placing large importance on apostolic succession and tradition. Catholic congregations faired somewhat better in Queensland society where they were the second largest religion for most of the twenieth century and finally surpassed the number of Anglicans in the state by the end of the century. The larger number of Catholics among the working class also meant that Catholics had more favour during the long period of Queensland Labor Governments in the first half of the century.

Citations

To be verified.

Image Citations

Map References

Qimagery. Brisbane City Council Series 1946. Scale: 1:15,900.