Cardinal George Pell visited Ballarat and a school at the centre of clergy abuse claims just weeks before the royal commission hearings began in the town.

The Cardinal is pictured walking the halls of St Patrick's College with the school's headmaster John Crowley in the April edition of the school's magazine The Shamrock.

The development comes as public pressure builds on Australia's most senior Catholic cleric to front the commission to answer explosive claims that he bribed a victim to remain silent about a notorious paedophile priest.

The March 28 visit to the school coincided with a "short vacation to Australia" for Cardinal Pell, a former St Patrick's student, and involved talks of "an exciting new initiative" to promote excellence at the school, The Shamrock reported.