The Catholic church had its beginnings in Cowra in the 1830s when priests covered astonishing distances on horseback to attend to the needs of those in isolated parts of the territory.

In 1853, Father Murphy received a government grant of two acres. This land was fences and remained as a sheep paddock until January 1859 when tenders were called in The Bathurst Times newspaper for the erection of a church, which was officially opened on February 13, 1861.

Archbishop Polding dedicated the church in the name of Archangel Raphael on October 24, 1865.

In 1866, Catholic population growing to the extent that another church was needed. Completed in 1878 of granite, and built in Gothic lines, the second church held a congregation of 300. Stained-glass windows were imported from Toulouse, France, and the interior carvings were by William Dryden.

Cowra was declared a Parish on July 1, 1889.

The Presbytery, erected in 1890, on elevated land overlooking the church, was built by Harry Hart, at a cost of £230.

The number of priest at Cowra increased to three in 1927.

By 1934, the Catholic population of Cowra had grown to 1,600 and to accommodate the numbers, it was necessary to have three Sunday Masses.

The foundation stone for the third and present St. Raphael's Church was laid on January 9, 1938 by Bishop Norton. The stones of the old church were used in the foundations of the new, which was the largest to be erected west of the Blue Mountains. Architecture is Romanesque, with a roof of Spanish tiles. The tower rose to 86 feet and housed the 122-year-old bell, which was inscribed.