It seems the spiritual needs of Catholics in the Blackheath area were ministered to as early as 1842 by priests from St Bernard's, Hartley. This arrangement existed until 1890 when the Blue Mountains parish, centred in Katoomba, was established. It serviced the needs of the congregations of Blackheath, Mt Victoria and Megalong until 1943.
The Sacred Heart Church was opened and blessed by Cardinal Moran on Australia Day, 1902. In May 1943, a new Parish District with its centre at Blackheath was created. The newly appointed resident priest assumed responsibility for a rather large area including Blackheath, Mt Victoria, Megalong Valley and a church hall at Medlow Bath.
The Sisters of Mercy from Wilcannia Forbes diocese opened a small school in Blackheath in 1912. A larger school and convent followed in the early 1940s, allowing the intake of boarders. This was closed in 1970 and the schoolhouse has recently been refurbished as a church hall.
In the early 1990s the steady decline in the numbers of clergy dictated the need for changes in the Blue Mountains. In 1993, two Sisters of Charity took up residence in the parish house and as a result of diocesan consultation, the parish continued without a resident pastor. These Sisters left at the end of 2002 and a Dominican Sister was appointed in 2003 and continued to help the parishioners run the parish.
These pastoral arrangements ended in 2009 with the appointment of Fr Bob Sheridan as Parish Priest. Fr Bob’s retired in 2020 and our current Parish Priest is Fr John McSweeney.
PARISH TIMELINE
1837 / 1839: First recorded baptism of Martha Jane Goodlock at Mount York.
1840: St Mary's Mission established at Bathurst by Fr Michael O'Reilly and Fr Thomas Slattery.
1841: Hartley Parish Church built. Mountains served by the Bathurst Missions from Hartley.
1843: Services were celebrated for Catholic soldiers at the Blackheath Stockade by the Priest from Hartley Catholic Church.
1845: Baptism of James McCarroll at the Blackheath Stockade.
1860: The Bathurst Mission was subdivided; Hartley Parish included Blackheath.
1868: Opening of a Chapel on 27 Tune at One Tree Hill (later M o u n t Victoria).
1876: Fr James Phelan was Parish Priest at Hartley and serviced the Blue Mountains.
1880s: Weatherboard churches at Mt Victoria and Megalong were planned.
1886: Recording of a subscription list in aid of a new church, St Paul's, raising 64 pounds.
1887: Church commenced at Katoomba. Mount Victoria church in use.1890: Parish of Blue Mountains established on August 15, stretching from Springwood to Megalong to Mount Victoria with Fr James McGough, an Irish Priest from Maitland appointed as Parish Priest.
1892: Land for a church was obtained alongside Megalong Creek.
1899: Mount Victoria's debt of 140 pounds plus £40/16/6 in interest was paid in full.
1899: Sisters of Charity nuns first arrive in the Blue Mountains for respite from work in Sydney.
1900: Resignation of Rev McGough, Parish Priest in October. Fr St. Clair Joseph Bridge was appointed n e w Parish Priest.
1901: Cardinal Moran, on a trip back from Bathurst, fixed on a suitable site for a new church to be built in Blackheath.
1902: Blackheath Catholic Church opened on 26 January.
1902: Mount Victoria Church needed improvements by the end of this year.
1903: Sacred Heart Sisters donated vestments to Blackheath and Mount Victoria churches. Government Botanic Department sent 300 trees and shrubs for planting at Katoomba, Mt Victoria and Blackheath.
1905: The first church of any religious body was constructed in the Kanimbla Valley. It opened on Sunday 19 March
1913: Sisters of Mercy purchased "Duddington" in Blackheath.
1915: The small church in the Megalong Valley burnt down in May.
1917: Mark Foy gifted the altar to Blackheath Church. Extensions included the side chapel for the nuns.
1918: New Church opened in the Megalong Valley.
1940: Sisters of Mercy built and opened a new primary school at Blackheath (now the Parish Hall).
1943: Blackheath was made the centre of a new Parochial District covering Mount Victoria, Medlow Bath and Megalong Valley. Fr. Joseph Purcell was the first resident Parish Priest.
1947: Fr. R. Ford - Parish Priest.
1950: Fr. F. O'Rourke- Parish Priest.
1955: Fr. T. O'Carroll - Parish Priest.
1964: Fr. L. Mahon - Parish Priest.
1965: Fr. F. Vaughan - Parish Priest.
1969: Fr. Francis Vaughan - bricked in the church at Blackheath and undertook extensive interior refurbishments.
1971: Fr. D. Callaghan - Parish Priest.
1972: Between February and November work was completed on the interior of the church at Blackheath. Entrance via Wentworth St was constructed and the track to Inconstant St graded and covered with crushed granite.
1979: Fr. Kevin Hay- Parish Priest. By this year a new lectern; tabernacle; Sanctuary lamp; and microphone were in place.
1986: The diocese of Parramatta was established. Bishop Bede Heather its first Bishop.
1986: Fr. A. Scibberas - Parish Administrator.
1991: Bishop Bede Heather proposed a new Parish, Mary McKillop, be established to include parishes from Lawson to Mount Victoria with Katoomba at its centre. Blackheath Parish voted to remain a separate Parish
1992: Fr. D. Griffin - Parish Administrator.
1993 (July): Sr Marion Corless R.S.C. and Sr Mary Maguire R.S.C. - Pastoral Leaders.
1994 (August): Sr Mary Maguire R.S.C.- Pastoral Leader. Sr Colleen Hallohan R.S.C. also resides in Blackheath Parish House.
2003: Sr Lyn Eastmure - Pastoral Leader.
2009- May 2020: Fr. Bob Sheridan - Parish Priest.
2020 (15 September): Fr .John Mc Sweeney - Parish Priest of Blackheath and Mary McKillop, Upper Mountains
LOOKING BACK: PARISH SNAPSHOTS
In a 1995 snapshot, Sister Mary Maguire R.S.C., Pastoral Co-Ordinator of Blackheath Parish 1994 – 2003, shared her experience in an article entitled ‘The Blackheath Story’, published in Tomorrow's Church, c1995.
In 1992, Bishop Bede Heather informed the parishes of Leura/Wentworth Falls, Katoomba and Blackheath (& later Lawson) that the number of Priests in the area would be rationalised. At the time, I was living in the Sisters of Charity community at Leura. When the consultations began I went along, as I sensed the whiff of "future Church". After consultation with the Blue Mountains Parishes, Blackheath voted against being amalgamated with Mary McKillop Parish, despite Bishop Bede explaining there would not be a Parish Priest assigned to the Parish.
Bishop Bede informed Blackheath Parish that a Priest would say Sunday Mass and once a month, a Friday evening Mass was celebrated at Mt Victoria which was considered the Sunday Mass. Sister Mary Maguire and Sister Marion Corless were appointed to provide pastoral care for Blackheath Parish. From the beginning, Marion and 1, worked from the premise that the parishioners knew the place much better than we did and we tried very hard to build community and give the people confidence.
We came to the Parish on 30 June 1993 and, as soon as possible had a parish meeting. Colin Pilkington, a parishioner, facilitated the meeting during which anxieties, fears and hurts were expressed. Colin then asked everyone to imagine flying over Blackheath in a hot air balloon in the year 2010. He asked us to look down on the church and imagine what we would like to see happening in and around the church. These hopes and dreams were recorded. The next question was: "If this is what we would like to see, how are we going to achieve it?" People were sent away to consider their gifts which they could put to the service of the Parish community.
Before the next meeting, about a month later, the interim Parish committee worked on the aim and purpose of the Parish. It was decided that the purpose of our parish is for worship, for community building, and for outreach. When we had our second Parish meeting, people volunteered their gifts and working groups were formed. The groups formed were: Liturgy, Social, Fundraising and Maintenance. A finance committee had already been formed. As well as other important work, the liturgy group had a great music ministry. The AOV hymn books were purchased and we learnt some great new hymns. The social group, not only arranged get-togethers, they introduced a cup of tea after Mass which became very popular. The fundraising group got us out of the red! The maintenance group made an amazing difference to Parish properties, and they tell me our grounds are almost as good as the Anglicans!
On Wednesday mornings one of the acolytes conducts a Communion Service. On the last Friday of the month, Megalong Valley Church has celebration of The Word with Communion. On Tuesdays there's a "Praying the Gospel" group who discuss and pray over the Gospel for the following Sunday. This year the liturgy group prepared the Easter ceremonies. They had only two meetings with the Celebrant Priest. The Priest and parishioners were delighted with its symbolism and prayerfulness.
In August 1994 Sister Marion had heart surgery and was unable to return. I have been on my own since then, which is a new way of life for me! Now we have many areas that we need to address. There are times when we look around and get the sense that the Parish is a bit fragile in numbers and in the people involved in ministry. But, there is a sense of vitality, of ownership, and of "let's get on with it". This is just the way God leads us in Blackheath.
In a 2021 snapshot, the Catholic Outlook published an article on Sacred Heart Parish entitled ‘A parish in the hills: Sacred Heart Parish, Blackheath. To read this click here.
EXPLORE PAST EVENTS THROUGH OUR PARISH PHOTO ALBUMS
PARISH MUSIC
Panis Angelicus - David Ridoutt
A beautiful setting of Céser Frank's hymn from our much loved and well remembered cantor, the late David Ridoutt' s album 'Ben's Gift'
Who Is that Refugee? - Pat Drummond
A compelling and challenging setting of The Flight into Egypt (Matthew 1:28) from Music Ministry team member, Pat Drummond.