Making the Cathedral run – Fr Don Richardson, Dean of St Mary’s Cathedral

The Archbishop of Sydney Most Rev Anthony Fisher OP delivers leadership to the Sydney diocese on many levels but it is the Dean, Fr Don Richardson with the responsibility for making things run.

 As Dean and Administrator of St Mary’s Cathedral, Fr Don Richardson is the priest with pastoral responsibility for the parish for the inner city of Sydney, and also the priest in charge of the Cathedral Church of the Archbishop of Sydney, which is a sacred  building of profound significance which is cherished not only to Catholics but the wider Sydney community.

Fr Don studied for the priesthood at St Patrick’s College, Manly and was ordained a priest in 1992. He was Assistant Priest in parishes at Mount Pritchard, Menai and then the cathedral, Parish Priest of St Paul of the Cross, Dulwich Hill and later Holy Cross, Woollahra. Over the years has also served in a range of other pastoral roles in the Sydney Archdiocese, such as Archdiocesan Master of Ceremonies, Pastoral Director at the Seminary of the Good Shepherd, and Director of the Archdiocesan Liturgy Office. Archbishop Fisher asked Fr Don to take the position of Dean of the Cathedral in January 2016.

Fr Don says “It is a great privilege and very fulfilling, personally, to serve at St Mary’s Cathedral in this role. It is also challenging and complex, with pastoral, sacramental, administrative, educational, musical, cultural, historical, financial, technological, civic, social and regulatory elements all vying for attention!  It is a real blessing for me to have the collaboration of the other cathedral priests and our wonderful lay staff in this mission of service.”