<P> Australian Christmas carols like the Three Drovers or Christmas Day by John Wheeler and William G. James place the Christmas story in an Australian context of warm, dry Christmas winds and red dust and are popular at Catholic services . As the festival of Christmas falls during the Australian summer, Australians gather in large numbers for traditional open - air evening carol services and concerts in December, such as Carols by Candlelight in Melbourne and Carols in the Domain in Sydney . </P> <P> The story of Christian art in Australia began with the arrival of the first British settlers at the end of the 18th century . During the 19th century, Gothic Revival cathedrals were built in the colonial capitals, often containing stain glass art works, as can be seen at St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney and St Patrick's Cathedral, Melbourne . Roy de Maistre (1894--1968) was an Australian abstract artist who obtained renown in Britain, converted to Catholicism and painted notable religious works, including a series of Stations of the Cross for Westminster Cathedral in London . Among the most acclaimed of Australian painters of Catholic themes was Arthur Boyd . He painted a Biblical series, and created tapestries of the life of St Francis of Assisi . Influenced by both the European masters and the Heidelberg School of Australian landscape art, he placed the central characters of the Bible within Australian bush scenery, as in his portrait of Adam and Eve, The Expulsion (1948). The artist Leonard French, who designed a stain glass ceiling of the National Gallery of Victoria, has drawn heavily on Christian story and symbolism through his career . </P> <P> Some of the Australians honoured by the Catholic Church to be saints or whose cause for canonisation is still being investiged include: </P> <Ul> <Li> Maria Ellan MacKillop, founder of the Sisters of Saint Joseph of the Sacred Heart of Jesus <Ul> <Li> Venerated: 13 June 1992 </Li> <Li> Beatified: 19 January 1995 </Li> <Li> Canonised: 17 October 2010 </Li> </Ul> </Li> </Ul>

The catholic church in australia is divided into provinces and dioceses