Sacred music filled St Patrick’s Cathedral, Parramatta, on Sunday 9 November as church musicians from across Australia gathered for the Guild of Church Musicians’ annual festival service, celebrating faith, dedication, and the vital role of music in worship.
Cathedral Director of Music Bernard Kirkpatrick KSS was among four musicians recognised, with Bernard receiving the prestigious Honorary Fellowship of the Guild (HonFGCM) for his decades of service to sacred music. The event coincided with Bernard’s 60th birthday in the same week, marking a lifetime devoted to the Church’s musical life.
The afternoon celebration began with Solemn Vespers, presided over by Bishop Vincent Long OFM Conv, Bishop of Parramatta, and officiated by Fr Peter Williams AM, Vicar General of the Diocese of Parramatta, with Deacon David Dowling assisting. Traditional choral and organ music were on full display, led by Assistant Director of Music Eric Grella and St Patrick’s Cathedral choir. Assistant organists Patrick Newman and Michael Taylor, alongside scholars Dominic Hart and Cynthia Bui, performed throughout the liturgy, which included works such as Coelestis urbs Jerusalem by M. Dupré, Christ is our Cornerstone by T. Harewood, and Bernard’s own Canticle of the Lamb, composed especially for the occasion.
A symphony of faith and excellence
Associate Professor Neil McEwan AM, Academic Dean of the Guild, read the citation, highlighting Bernard’s lifetime of service.
Bernard Kirkpatrick has been director of music at St Patrick’s Cathedral in Parramatta since 2006. His passion for sacred liturgical music began as a child in Tasmania, playing in his local parish church, and further developed as a music student and organ scholar at the University of Sydney, studying with Sydney City Organist Robert Ampt.
In 1991, he pursued improvisation studies in Paris with Naji Hakim, as well as further studies in the United Kingdom.
Bernard Kirkpatrick KSS, the Director of Music at St Patrick’s Cathedral, Parramatta, amongst the pipes of the Cathedral organ. Image: Supplied
Bernard brings more than 40 years of experience in parish churches and cathedrals, contributing his expertise in music ministry over many years, including more than 10 years as Assistant Organist at St Mary’s Cathedral Sydney.
In parishes, seminaries, schools, and universities, he has fulfilled roles as music director, choir trainer, organist, composer, and cantor. In addition to his role at St Patrick’s Cathedral, Bernard currently serves as Music Director at the Seminary of the Good Shepherd in the Archdiocese of Sydney and at Australia’s only Catholic liberal arts college, Campion College Australia.
He is also Music Consultant to the Australian Catholic Bishops’ Commission for Liturgy and served as secretary to the National Liturgical Music Board for 10 years, during which he oversaw the collation and publication of the Catholic Worship Book II (2016).
Among his compositions, the Mass of Christ the Redeemer is one of several Australian Mass settings approved and recommended for use with the new English translation of the Roman Missal.
His work often explores ways to incorporate traditional sacred music styles into contemporary liturgical practice through a synthesis of form, musical language, and instrumentation.
The cathedral choir, led by Bernard Kirkpatrick, providing sacred music during the Office of Tenebrae service in 2022. Image: Diocese of Parramatta.
Some personal highlights from his lifetime of service include singing for and meeting Pope St John Paul II at a Mass in the papal chapel in 1991, and his role in the World Youth Day celebrations in Sydney in 2008, when he directed and combined seminarians for the Papal Mass at St Mary’s Cathedral Sydney.
He was also invited to play the organ at the closing WYD Mass celebrated by Pope Benedict XVI.
In 2021, Bernard was awarded a Papal Knighthood in the Order of Saint Sylvester (KSS), by Pope Francis, acknowledging his contribution to liturgical music in the Catholic Church.
Bishop Vincent Long with Bernard Kirkpatrick (centre left), his mother Rhonda Kirkpatrick (centre right) and the St Patrick’s Cathedral Choral Scholars following his receipt of the Papal Knighthood in the Order of St Sylvester (KSS) in 2021. Image: Diocese of Parramatta.
“Bernard has made an outstanding contribution to the liturgical music of the Catholic Church over his career. The Cathedral choir in Parramatta is highly regarded as one of the finest choral ensembles in Australia,” Assoc Prof McEwan said.
“I congratulate Bernard on receiving an Honorary Fellowship of the Guild of Church Musicians.”
The festival also recognised other church musicians for their generous use of skills in praise of God, and welcomed new Guild members. The service featured St Patrick’s Cathedral Choir, young cathedral organists, and choirs from across the Guild.
The event was livestreamed for those unable to attend.
View the photos on Flickr.
This initiative aligns with the Diocesan Pastoral Plan priority of Prayer and objective to be a Church renewed in spirit and prayer. In the words of St Augustine of Hippo, “He who sings prays twice.” Visit Synodality to learn more.
