The bronze statues of Italy's patron saints St Francis and St Catherine were erected in December 2000. They were commissioned to reflect the contribution made to the Archdiocese by the Italian community.
The statues were made by Melbourne sculptor Louis Laumen, who used each Saint's stigmata, the physical wounds of Christ's crucifixion given as a gift from God, as a focus for the sculptures.
St Francis is the first recorded occasion of someone receiving the stigmata, and the artist has depicted the Saint's hands to gesture a ‘look of bewilderment’ at receiving the stigmata. His face was designed according to a written description by a contemporary of Francis.
St Catherine is depicted during a vision that she had of Christ offering her a choice of a crown of gold or a crown of thorns, and her acceptance of the crown of thorns. The statue sees the crown of thorns actually impaling her hands as a sign of the stigmata.