Adelaide City of Churches

St Peter's Anglican Cathedral Adelaide

... as a friend told me when I said I was going to come here. So why is there so little readily available information about them? Indeed the only reference I could find in the Visitors' Guide to Adelaide which I picked up on arrival in the city was in the city map where just three churches are shown, the Catholic, Anglican and Greek Orthodox cathedrals. The Guide's Contents listing directs me to shopping, nightlife, arts and culture, attractions, events, markets, parks and gardens, and so on, but any mention of churches, even these three great cathedral buildings?  No!
This is a shame, because these cathedral churches alone offer much for the visitor to see and enjoy.
So why isn't Adelaide, City of Churches, directing its visitors to them?
I decided to dig deeper, and found a more detailed city map which helpfully shows twelve city churches, and even lists them. This was a good start! But it was only when I visited one of those listed did I find a little blue leaflet, which gives details of no less than 24 of the Christian churches of all denominations, and on the cover it says: "The Churches of Adelaide welcome you and invite you to their services." But it seems the visitor to this beautiful city is unlikely to find the churches unless he visits one!
And you don't have to attend any service, or even be a Christian, to appreciate much that these many churches can offer the visitor. 

Catholic Cathedral of Saint Francis Xavier

Armed with the list and the map, I embarked on a pilgrimage around all these holy places, and found many to be very well worth the visit, whether as tourist interested in the history and culture or simply appreciative of beautiful buildings; and whatever your faith, creed, religion, or spirituality. The first step on my pilgrimage was to attend a Sunday morning Eucharist at the Anglican Cathedral. That was a deeply spiritual experience for me and a good start! Divine music, with heavenly organ and choir and plenty of incense. And the post service hospitality for all was generous and friendly.

So I shall soon be starting a series here on Adelaide City of Churches, relating my experiences and hoping to put these buildings on the map again. I hope I shall thereby encourage visitors to go and see some of these buildings for themselves, whether as tourist or worshipper. And if you are far away from Australia I hope my photos and ramblings will still interest and inspire you:  perhaps to make your own pilgrimage to your own local churches, with an open mind to see what they have to offer.