St. Patrick's Basilica (Ottawa)

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Exterior view of the basilica
Chancel of the basilica

The Basilica of St. Patrick ( English St. Patrick's Basilica ) is a Roman Catholic Church in Ottawa , capital of Canada . The church in the Archdiocese of Ottawa-Cornwall is dedicated to Patrick of Ireland and has the rank of minor basilica .

history

The parish was founded in 1855 and was originally intended to serve not only the English-speaking Catholics of Ottawa, but also those of the city of Hull (now part of Gatineau ), with many believers of Irish descent. Thus the parish of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, was consecrated.

Planning for today's church building began in 1869 under the direction of the architect Augustus Laver. In 1872 the cornerstone was blessed by Bishop Guigues (the first Bishop of Ottawa) and laid for the first Canadian Prime Minister, John A. Macdonald . The church was largely completed in 1874/75 under the architect McCord Arnoldi and was blessed by Bishop Guigue's successor, Bishop Duhamel. On St. Patrick's Day 1995 the church was raised to the rank of a minor basilica by Pope John Paul II . In 1998 a large lower church with a Lourdes grotto and side rooms was created.

Architecture and equipment

The building with 1000 seats was built from quarry stone in the neo-Gothic style. The church has a carved and stenciled ceiling. It is furnished with marble altars, stained glass windows and oak benches. To the right of the altar is a beautiful replica of Murillo's Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The ceiling, most of the murals, and some of the stained glass windows are by Guido Nincheri from the 1920s and 1930s. Essential windows come from Franz Mayer from Munich. The Stations of the Cross are bas-reliefs from 1876.

At the main entrance to the church are the First and Second World War memorials, which contain the names of parishioners who perished in those wars. Windows were dedicated to the fallen.

organ

The first organ from 1887 was built by SR Warren & Son and in 1898 Casavant Frères expanded it to three manuals and pedal. In 1930 a restoration took place with the addition of glockenspiel and tremulant.

Web links

Commons : St. Patrick's Basilica  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Laver, Augustus. In: Architects in Canada
  2. ↑ St. Patrick's Basilica at gcatholic.org

Coordinates: 45 ° 25 ′ 0.1 ″  N , 75 ° 42 ′ 1.8 ″  W.