The first census in 1836 of the region we now know as Victoria, revealed fourteen Catholics in the small village on the Yarra, who were meeting to say the Rosary in a cottage. Within three years a temporary Catholic Church had been built, being replaced by the original St Francis church in 1841. As Melbourne expanded, the Church established 'Missions' in the outlying rural areas of the new settlement, first at Coburg and then at Heidelberg in 1848.

This book continues this remarkable story and picks up the particular history of the Heidelberg Mission and its first Parish, St John the Evangelist. From this humble beginning sprang the network of Catholic Churches and parishes throughout what is now the eastern half of metropolitan Melbourne.

The Heidelberg Mission and the parish of St John the Evangelist is a fitting subject for the first monograph in a series about historic Australian churches. -- From the Foreword by Most Rev Peter A. Comensoli, Archbishop of Melbourne

Kevin Andrews is a former Australian parliamentarian and cabinet minister, serving the electorate of Menzies in the House of Representatives for 31 years. He and his wife, Margaret have been parishioners at St John the Evangelist, Heidelberg for four decades.