Saint Boniface Cathedral

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North-east elevation, choir of the new cathedral
West view, historical portal facade
Old cathedral around 1908

The Saint-Boniface Cathedral is the Roman Catholic cathedral of the Archdiocese of Saint-Boniface and is located in the eastern, French-speaking Saint-Boniface district of Winnipeg , Manitoba , Canada . The St. Church consecrated to Boniface also has the title of a minor basilica .

history

After the first chapel already stood on the site near the Red River , Joseph-Norbert Provencher, priest and later bishop, arranged for a small block chapel to be built from oak logs in 1818. In 1832, Bishop Provencher built the church, which became the first cathedral of the new diocese in 1844. On December 14, 1860, a fire destroyed this building. In 1862, Bishop Alexandre-Antonin Taché rebuilt the cathedral in stone.

Louis Riel , who is now recognized as "Father of Manitoba ", was buried in the cathedral cemetery in 1885 after his execution. His grave is visited a lot.

By 1900, Saint-Boniface was the fifth largest city in western Canada and needed a larger cathedral. Local entrepreneurs Senecal and Smith were commissioned to build a new cathedral based on plans by the Montreal architect Jean-Omer Marchand. On August 15, 1906, Archbishop Louis-Philippe-Adélard Langevin inaugurated the cathedral, which was one of the most imposing churches in western Canada. 1949 received the cathedral by Pope Pius XII. additionally awarded the title of a minor basilica .

On July 22, 1968, the cathedral was badly damaged in a fire. Large parts of the cathedral were destroyed, only the facade, the sacristy and the walls of the old church remained.

In 1972, behind the facade from 1906, a new, smaller cathedral was built by Étienne Gaboury and Denis Lussier using the old walls. In 1994 the building was added to the List of Historic Places of Canada.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Mother Church of Western Canada
  2. ↑ Manitoba Provincial Heritage Site No. 80 St. Boniface Cathedral
  3. ^ Basilique-Cathédrale Saint-Boniface on gcatholic.org
  4. ↑ St. Boniface Cathedral on historicplaces.ca

Coordinates: 49 ° 53 '21.5 "  N , 97 ° 7' 19.2"  W.