Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace (Honolulu)

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Exterior view of the cathedral on the altar side
Interior around 1900

The Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Peace ( English Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Peace ) is a Roman Catholic Church in Honolulu in the US state of Hawaii . The cathedral of the Honolulu diocese and the minor basilica is known in other languages: French Cathédrale de Notre Dame de la Paix , Portuguese Catedral de Nossa Senhora da Paz and Hawaiian Malia o ka Malu Hale Pule Nui . It was built in 1843 and is consecrated to Mary , the Mother of God , invoking Regina Pacis . The Grade II listed cathedral is believed to be the oldest Catholic cathedral in constant use as such in the United States.

history

The cathedral is one of the oldest existing buildings in downtown Honolulu. The patronage of Our Lady of Peace came from the first Catholic missionaries in the Hawaiian Islands, members of the Arnstein Fathers . The cathedral stands on land that was used by the missionaries of King Kamehameha III. for the founding of the mission in 1827. In November 1837, King Kamehameha III drove away. the Catholics under pressure from Protestant missionaries from the islands. The turning point came on July 10, 1839, when the French frigate Artemise sailed into the port of Honolulu under the command of Captain Cyrille Laplace and, among other things , demanded the freedom of the Catholic religion in the Kingdom of Hawaii .

The cathedral itself was consecrated on August 15, 1843 after construction began in 1840. In 1844 the Apostolic Vicariate of the Sandwich Islands, from 1847 the Hawaiian Islands, was founded and the church was used as a cathedral. In 1941 the Vicariate was elevated to the Diocese of Honolulu. The structure was added to the National Register of Historic Places on August 7, 1972 . In 2014, Pope Francis also awarded the cathedral the title of a minor basilica.

The Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace was the site of the ordination of St. Damian de Veuster . St. Damian is known for his work with the sick in the leper colony on the Kalaupapa Peninsula, Molokai . He died of leprosy himself in 1889 and was killed by Pope Benedict XVI in 2009 . canonized .

architecture

The building was constructed from coral stone blocks brought to the construction site from the Kaka'ako banks. The three-aisled church has a wide central nave under a high barrel vault and narrow aisles with galleries above them. The pillar portico in front of the simple facade is from the renovation in 1910. The church tower above the altar area is the third tower. The original tower from 1843 had a simple dome shape, which was replaced by a high wooden spire in 1866. This was replaced by today's concrete tower due to termite damage from 1917. In the tower hang two bells that were cast in France.

Furnishing

inner space

During the renovation in the 1870s, the church received lead glass windows and other fittings from France. A triptych of statues was erected above the altar with Mary, Queen of Peace, and her parents, St. Joachim and St. Anna , and 36 further statuettes of various saints were placed. Bishop Maigret also acquired the bishop's chair and a richly decorated canopy made of oak. The renovations gave the cathedral a mix of neo-Romanesque and neo-Gothic styles.

The Aeolian Skinner Organ Opus 916 is the third organ to be installed in the cathedral. The original organ came from France and was installed in Hawaii as the first pipe organ in 1847. It was replaced in 1876 by a pipe organ from England, with which the statue of St. Cecilia , the patroness of church music, was erected. Today's instrument was consecrated on September 9, 1934. It was partially renovated and restored in 1985 and is now one of the oldest working pipe organs in Hawaii.

The statue of Our Lady of Peace in the inner courtyard of the cathedral was blessed on December 24, 1893 by Bishop Gulstan Ropert and is said to show the location of the mission church. The plaques on the four sides of the base are engraved in Hawaiian, English, French and Portuguese with the words "In memory of the first Roman Catholic Church, Our Lady of Peace 1827-1893".

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d History of the Cathedral .
  2. ↑ Our Lady of Peace Cathedral in the National Register Information System. National Park Service , accessed June 7, 2019.
  3. ↑ Sermon of the Pope on canonization (Italian)

Web links

Commons : Kathedralbasilika Maria Frieden  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 21 ° 18 '38.7 "  N , 157 ° 51' 33.9"  W.