Our Lady of Seven Sorrows Catholic Church - Former

The former Our Lady of Seven Sorrows Catholic Church, Caveat was destroyed in the bushfire in mid January 2026, with only the cross and the bell tower remaining. The church had been part of the Parish of Yea and the Diocese of Melbourne. The church was built by a small community of Czech, Polish and Ukranian families who settled in the area in the 1930s. Before the church building was erected, Mass was celebrated in the home of Mr George Zoch. The land for the building was donated by Mr Douglas McAlpin. The building was erected by voluntary labour in 1955,and officially opened and blessed as St Mary's Catholic Church by Bishop Fox in 1956. Later a bell  and tower were erected and blessed by Monsignor Hannan from Melbourne. A grotto was erected from granite collected in the district at a later date, and blessed by Monsignor Hannan. The church celebrated its silver jubilee in 1981¹. Over the years the church has been known by different names reflecting gifts from artisians. More historical information/photographs of the former church/congregation are invited. Photographs uploaded 1/9/2022 & 18/1/2026.

Note 1: For more of the church story see - The Story of Yea - A 150 Year History of the Shire /by Harvey Blanks, Melbourne, The Hawthorne Press, 1973. pages 175-176  AND  - https://highlands.org.au/tgn/granite_news_11_19.pdf

Note: Photograph attribution/source - https://melbournecatholic.org/news/our-lady-of-seven-sorrows-church-ravaged-by-victorian-bushfires