“Our Lady of Fatima, remarkable enough in an era when most new church design is rarely better than pedestrian, is a resounding success not only in realising the intentions of Vatican II but also in creating a place enveloping spirituality and contemplative tranquillity in the ordinariness of Australia suburbia.”

Trevor Howells, Architecture Review Australia, September 2000

Our Lady of Fatima, a new Catholic Church and parish centre in the Sydney suburb of Caringbah, is a contemporary interpretation of current Catholic doctrine and the role of the church in a local community. While the space must serve liturgical procedures, it also maintains an aura of mystery and reverence. We designed the church to bring people closer together, with the alter forming a focal point. The church is now both a sanctuary and gathering place for the local community.

Rather than adopting traditional church architecture, the design of Our Lady of Fatima derives from the 1963 Second Vatican Council. However, the design also evokes ‘memories’ of traditional church forms, via the timber roof structure, circular windows and the rich colours of the ambulatory. Memory of traditional gothic roof carpentry is embodied in the portal frames, metaphorically connecting the terrestrial worshipper to the celestial realm beyond. The church seats 600 and has two separate chapels.