St. Mary's Cathedral in Sydney Australia is a house of worship and also a famous tourist attraction. Thanks to the church's Christmas program, during the month of December, St. Mary's becomes even more popular.

From December 9-25, the cathedral hosts a nightly program called, "Lights of Christmas." The St. Mary's website calls this a "spectacular show of light, colour and movement, the display also brings home the real meaning of Christmas."

The program consists of a series of projections on the western facade of the historic cathedral.

Image: Facebook

These images are done using the same technology used at Disneyworld for the theme park's "Castle Projection Show" started in early 2011.

Image: YouTube

The story of the St. Mary's Cathedral projections also begins in 2011. TheBlaze spoke with Father Paul Hilder at St. Mary's about the program.

"It began in 2011 with a government-funded program that was projecting images on building all through the city," Hilder told TheBlaze. Adding, "However, after the second year, the funding dried up."

The current projection show is sponsored by visitor donations and various Catholic agencies.

According to Father Hilder, "The Lights of Christmas" kicked off on December 9 with a massive crowd of people filling the square outside the cathedral.

The theme of this year's program is, "The Giving of Christmas" and it kicks off with the "12 Days of Christmas."

Image: Tom Leonardis / Facebook (used with permission)

Following the animated projections of the "12 Days of Christmas," Father Hilder explained the projections take on a more traditional religious theme.

The program, which includes hundreds of images, both static and animated, concludes with stunning images of what Hilder called, "The greatest gift of the season, the Madonna and child."

Image:  Tom Leonardis / Facebook (used with permission)

Image: Tom Leonardis / Facebook (used with permission)

Image: Tom Leonardis / Facebook (used with permission)

Of course, the show included a Christmas tree projection too.

Image: Tom Leonardis / Facebook (used with permission)

For more information about St. Mary's Cathedral, visit their website.

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