St. Dunstan's Cathedral Basilica

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Facade of St. Dunstan's
Interior panorama
Prospectus of the Casavant organ from 1923

The St. Dunstan's Cathedral Basilica ( English Cathedral Basilica of St. Dunstan ) is a Roman Catholic church in Charlottetown on Prince Edward Island , Canada . The cathedral of the Diocese of Charlottetown is dedicated to Dunstan of Canterbury and has the rank of minor basilica .

history

The first missionaries came to the island to the Catholic settlers from France in 1721. The settlers were deported by the English during the Seven Years' War in 1758 and the simple church near Charlottetown was destroyed. Catholic religious refugees from Scotland came to the island in 1772. They were looked after from 1790 by Aeneas Bernard MacEachern, who was appointed first bishop of the Diocese of Charlottetown in 1829. The wooden church built in 1816 was elevated to the status of St. Dunstan's Cathedral. In 1843 it was replaced by a larger wooden church.

In 1886 the community campaigned for the building of a more important church. The Montreal architect Francois-Xavier Berlinguet was hired and designed a neo-Gothic stone church. Construction began with the laying of the foundation stone in 1896 and was completed in 1907. In 1913 the cathedral was destroyed by fire. The reconstruction of today's cathedral, with some changes, took place from 1916 to 1919 under the architect John Marshall Hunter. In 1929 Pope Pius XI added the cathedral . awarded the title of minor basilica 100 years after the diocese was founded. The Cathedral Basilica was listed as a Heritage Site by the City of Charlottetown in 1979 and declared a National Historic Site of Canada in 1990 . Extensive renovations had previously taken place in the 1980s.

Building

The basilica is the fourth church to be built on this site. With its 61 meter high towers, it defines the view of Charlottetown as a very visible landmark. The neo-Gothic church in French tradition and Victorian style was designed in the form of a three-aisled basilica on a cross-shaped floor plan. The main facade with its church towers on the outside rises above a wide staircase. Three portals lead through the narthex into the short nave of the towering, richly decorated church. The ceiling vaults were designed by Godio of Paris. The choir space after the transept with a high roof turret is illuminated by a rose window .

Web links

Commons : St. Dunstan's Cathedral  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Church History (English)
  2. ↑ Cathedral Basilica of St. Dunstan at gcatholic.org
  3. ↑ Canada's Historic Places (English)

Coordinates: 46 ° 14 ′ 1 ″  N , 63 ° 7 ′ 31.4 ″  W.