Many people wander into All Saints’ out of curiosity, and find themselves overwhelmed by a mysterious sense of

prayer, sacredness, and love. They experience this Anglo-Catholic church in the heart of the City of Brisbane as a holy place, a sacred site, a shrine which triggers off their deep-seated human instinct to reach out to God.

In this church the earthly and the heavenly mingle daily in the offering of the Mass. All Saints’ is an inclusive place in which the gaze of all is directed to the outstretched arms of Jesus on the cross, the ultimate sign of God’s love.

The pictures, statues and icons remind us that even in apparent isolation we never pray alone. For us, slipping into a church like All Saints’ for “private” prayer is an experience of the whole praying community, which includes the Blessed Virgin Mary and all the Saints whose love supports us on our faith journey.

The present church, the oldest existing Anglican Church in Brisbane, was opened for worship on the Birthday of the Blessed Virgin Mary, 8th September, 1869, replacing an earlier structure of 1862. Its style is nineteenth century gothic revival, with buttressed walls of rough faced rubble, porphyry and sandstone, and a metal clad roof. The interior has a fine example of a hammer-beam roof, which is rare in Australia.

All Saints’ Church has played no small part in the story of Brisbane’s development into a city of culture and significance. Well-known identities who worshipped at All Saints’ in the nineteenth century included Sir Robert Ramsey Mackenzie, Sir James Dickson, (both of whom served as Premiers of Queensland, the latter becoming Minister of defence in the first Commonwealth Government), Mrs Mary Peattie, and the Hon. John Douglas. To this day, All Saints’ is regarded by many as the “Parish Church of the City of Brisbane”.

A Catholic Community

From its very beginning, All Saints’ has been distinguished as a leading centre of the Catholic Revival within the Anglican Church.

In other words, we are “mainstream Christians”, believing and practising the ancient Catholic Faith in much the same way as it has been believed and practised by the vast majority of the baptized down through the centuries and throughout the world.

In most metropolitan cities of the English speaking world there is a church like All Saints’ which by its proclamation of the full Catholic Faith, its careful celebration of the liturgy, and its cycle of Catholic prayer and devotion, reminds all Anglicans of their historic claim to be an integral part of the Catholic Church. At its best this tradition manages to combine the glories of transcendent worship, personal spirituality, a sense of fun, a practical service of the needy, and a ready acceptance of those who are trying to make sense out of life or who are struggling towards belief.

People with intellectual doubts and emotional difficulties appreciate city churches like All Saints’ where they can find acceptance, regardless of what stage they might have reached on their spiritual journey. Some find that they need the anonymity and “space” that a city church provides while they explore the basic notions of belief. Others have become regular at Mass because of the capacity of the worship itself to heal and nurture the wounded children of God.