England, in response to the revival of Gothic architecture as promoted by Augustus Welby Pugin and others as the most appropriate for the building of churches. The style is specifically Geometric Decorated Gothic, showing this style at its most complex in the large west window of the nave. The eastern arm with its chevet of radiating chapels in the French manner is still principally in the English late thirteenth century style, giving the most complete essay attempted in that style during the nineteenth century. William Wardell was a remarkably ambitious and capable architect; he went on to design the second St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney, in a similar style, even larger than St Patrick's, but with a completely English square East End. In 1974 Pope Paul VI conferred the title and dignity of minor basilica on it. In 1986 Pope John Paul II visited the cathedral and addressed clergy during his papal visit. The building also saw a green ban in the 1970s. Construction In 1858 William Wardell was commissioned to plan the cathedral with a contract signed on 8 December 1858 and building commencing the same year. Although the nave was completed within 10 years, construction proceeded slowly, and was further delayed by the severe depression which hit Melbourne in 1891. Under the leadership of Archbishop Thomas Carr the cathedral was consecrated in 1897 and even then it was not finished. Given the size of the Catholic community at the time, the massive bluestone Gothic cathedral was an immense and very expensive undertaking, and there were long delays while funds were raised. St Patrick's was one of the two largest churches brought to substantial completion anywhere in the world in the 19th century. The other is St Patrick's Cathedral, New York, United States. Daniel Mannix, who became Archbishop of Melbourne in 1917, maintained a constant interest in the cathedral, which he was determined to see finished after the long delays during the previous 30 years. He oversaw the addition of the spires and other elements in the late 1930s. The building was officially completed in 1939. The cathedral is long on its long axis, wide across the transepts and wide across the nave. The nave and transepts are high. The central spire is high and the flanking towers and spires are high. The bluestone used in its construction was sourced from basalt deposits in nearby Footscray. Restoration To celebrate the