The Basilica-Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in
St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador is the
metropolitan cathedral
A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominatio ...
of the
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. John's, Newfoundland
The Archdiocese of St. John's, Newfoundland ( la, Archidioecesis Sancti Ioannis Terrae Novae) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It is the metropol ...
and the mother church and symbol of Roman Catholicism in Newfoundland. The building sits within the
St. John's Ecclesiastical District
St. John's Ecclesiastical District is a formally-recognized heritage precinct, located in the central part of St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. It is composed of separate nodes containing buildings and spaces associated with the Roman Cathol ...
, a National Historic District of Canada.
The Basilica-Cathedral was the largest building project to its date in Newfoundland history. Construction lasted from the excavation of the ground in May 1839, through the laying of the cornerstone in May 1841, until the completion and consecration on September 9, 1855. At this time, it was the
largest church building in North America and remains the second largest church in Canada after
Saint Joseph's Oratory
Saint Joseph's Oratory of Mount Royal (french: Oratoire Saint-Joseph du Mont-Royal) is a Roman Catholic minor basilica and national shrine located at 3800 Queen Mary Road in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood on Mount Royal's Westmount Summit in ...
in
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...
and the largest cathedral church in Canada. The Basilica-Cathedral is one of the few buildings in St. John's to survive
the Great Fire of 1892.
On October 17, 2007, Bishop Martin Currie of the
Diocese of Grand Falls was appointed
archbishop of St. John's. He assumed his position on November 30, 2007, and retired on 29 January 2019. On December 12, 2018, Bishop Peter Hundt of the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Corner Brook and Labrador was appointed
archbishop of St. John's. He took canonical possession of the diocese on 29 January 2019.
History
![St](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5a/St._John%27s_from_Government_House.jpg)
Built between 1839–1855, the
basilica
In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's Forum (Roman), forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building ...
is located on the highest ridge overlooking the city of St. John's. The church is not oriented on an east-west axis, nor does it face toward
the narrows
__NOTOC__
The Narrows is the tidal strait separating the boroughs of Staten Island and Brooklyn in New York City, United States. It connects the Upper New York Bay and Lower New York Bay and forms the principal channel by which the Hudson Riv ...
that form the entrance to St. John's harbour, but rather, it was constructed on an orientation with its facade facing the line of the rising sun on the Winter Solstice, and the setting sun at the Summer Solstice, just as the medieval Chartres Cathedral is oriented on a solstitial axis.
The Basilica-Cathedral of St. John the Baptist is built in the form of a Latin cross and in the Lombard
Romanesque style of a Roman basilica. It was designed for Bishop Michael Anthony Fleming by the architect of the Danish government, Ole Joergen Schmidt, resident at Altona on the Elbe (Hamburg) though Fleming also had some plans prepared by the distinguished
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
architect John Philpot Jones of
Clonmel,
County Tipperary
County Tipperary ( ga, Contae Thiobraid Árann) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary, and was established in the early 13th century, shortly after t ...
, Ireland, and also consulted with James Murphy, a native of
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...
, Ireland, on plans for the cathedral. Construction was initially supervised by the Waterford contractor Michael McGrath, but later superintended by stonemason and sculptor James Purcell of
Cork
Cork or CORK may refer to:
Materials
* Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product
** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container
***Wine cork
Places Ireland
* Cork (city)
** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...
, Ireland, who also designed and built a small wooden church, Christchurch, at Quidi Vidi near St. John's.
Construction took place under the watchful eye of the Irish-born Bishop
Michael Anthony Fleming
Michael Anthony Fleming, O.S.F. ( – July 14, 1850) was an Irish-born Friar Minor who served as the Roman Catholic Church bishop of the Diocese of St. John's, Newfoundland. He was principally responsible for changing a small mission wi ...
, the Vicar-Apostolic and first Bishop of
Newfoundland and later under the eye of his successor, Bishop
John Thomas Mullock
John Thomas Mullock (September 27, 1807 – March 26, 1869) was Roman Catholic bishop of St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, St. John's, Colony of Newfoundland, Newfoundland and did much to establish and develop the church in the region.
Bo ...
. The Basilica-Cathedral of St. John the Baptist is unusual among North America's 19th century public buildings in that it was constructed using limestone and granite imported from
Galway
Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a city in the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay, and is the sixth most populous city on ...
and
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...
, Ireland, as well as 400,000 bricks from Hamburg, as well as local sandstone and Newfoundland bluestone quarried from St. John's and Kelly's Island in Conception Bay, giving the Cathedral its characteristic grey colour.
![Roman Catholic Cathedral St](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c3/Roman_Catholic_Cathedral_St._John%27s.jpg)
The St. John's Basilica-Cathedral was contemporary with and part of the great boom in church construction which surrounded the era of
Daniel O'Connell
Daniel O'Connell (I) ( ga, Dónall Ó Conaill; 6 August 1775 – 15 May 1847), hailed in his time as The Liberator, was the acknowledged political leader of Ireland's Roman Catholic majority in the first half of the 19th century. His mobilizat ...
and
Catholic emancipation
Catholic emancipation or Catholic relief was a process in the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland, and later the combined United Kingdom in the late 18th century and early 19th century, that involved reducing and removing many of the restricti ...
in Ireland and
Newfoundland. For its day, the St. John's Basilica was the largest Irish cathedral anywhere outside Ireland. No other building of the Irish diaspora in North America can boast of such intimate influences from or upon Ireland, and no other building had such an international reputation in its day.
During its centenary celebration in 1955,
Pope Pius XII raised the cathedral to the rank of
minor Basilica
In the Catholic Church, a basilica is a designation given by the Pope to a church building. Basilicas are distinguished for ceremonial purposes from other churches. The building need not be a basilica in the architectural sense (a rectangular ...
.
The Basilica was designated a
National Historic Site of Canada
National Historic Sites of Canada (french: Lieux historiques nationaux du Canada) are places that have been designated by the federal Minister of the Environment on the advice of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada (HSMBC), as being ...
in 1983, to recognize its architectural uniqueness as one of the earliest North American examples of the Romanesque revival style, and its central role as the spiritual and cultural home of Newfoundland Roman Catholics. The building has also been designated as a Registered Heritage Structure and Provincial Historic Site by the
Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador
The Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador (HFNL) or Heritage NL is a non-profit Crown corporation of the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador established in 1984 by the Historic Resources Act. Its mandate is to stimulate an unde ...
. Its builder, Michael Anthony Fleming, was designated a Person of National Historic Significance in 2005.
In 2021, it was announced that the Basilica was among properties being assessed for potential sale to compensate men who were
sexually abused
Sexual abuse or sex abuse, also referred to as molestation, is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using force or by taking advantage of another. Molestation often refers to an instance of sexual assau ...
at the former
Mount Cashel Orphanage
The Mount Cashel Orphanage, known locally as the Mount Cashel Boys' Home, was a boys' orphanage located in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The orphanage was operated by the Congregation of Christian Brothers, and became infamous for ...
. In July 2022, it was announced that the Basilica, along with several other adjacent properties, would be purchased by the Basilica Heritage Foundation, which has pledged to protect the historic properties. The Basilica will continue as the main Catholic church for the city.
Architecture
![Basilica of St John the Baptist, St John's 2010](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2c/Basilica_of_St_John_the_Baptist%2C_St_John%27s_2010.jpg)
The Basilica-Cathedral is built in the
Lombard Romanesque
The term Lombard refers to people or things related to Lombardy, a region in northern Italy.
History and culture
* Lombards, a Germanic tribe
* Lombards of Sicily, a linguistic minority living in Sicily, southern Italy
* Lombard League, a me ...
style, based on visual features typically associated with the churches of northern Italy. The building is built with grey limestone and white granite quarried in
Galway
Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a city in the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay, and is the sixth most populous city on ...
and
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...
, Ireland and grey sandstone from St. John's and Kelly's Island, Conception Bay, Newfoundland. The exterior is 260 ft (85 m) long and 220 ft. (65 m) wide; the two towers rise 150 ft. (48 m) from street level. The total capacity of the Basilica is around 2,500 people, though during the visit of Pope John Paul II in September 1984, 3600 educators gathered in the Basilica-Cathedral to greet the Roman Pontiff. When completed in 1855, the Basilica-Cathedral of St. John The Baptist was the largest church building in North America.
The East Tower contains a single
bell
A bell is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be made by an inte ...
, the largest in the church. Called the St. John Bell, this two-ton bell was purchased by Bishop Mullock in February 1850. Cast by
John Murphy of
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...
, it was the largest ever cast in Ireland at that time, and won a Gold Medal at the
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...
Exhibition of Irish Manufacturers. There are eight bells in the West Tower. The three largest bells were cast by Murphy in 1854 and 1857. The five smaller bells were cast in 1906 by Matthew O'Byrne of the Fountain Head Bell Foundry in
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...
, Ireland.
![NLA StJohns7 tango7174](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e4/NLA_StJohns7_tango7174.jpg)
The Basilica-Cathedral contains twenty-eight stained glass windows which adorn the upper walls (clerestory) and are of English and French workmanship. The windows were the gifts of patrons and religious societies, such as the
Society of the Holy Rosary and were installed between 1859 and 1905. The 35 stained glass windows in the ambulatory all date from 1954–55 and were the work of
Gerard Earley and Company of Dublin; they constitute the largest collection of mid-20th Century Irish Arts and Crafts style stained glass windows in one building in the western hemisphere.
Interior
The Altar of Sacrifice, which stands at the front of the
Sanctuary
A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a sa ...
, enshrines one of the most revered and important pieces of statuary in the Basilica, ''
The Dead Christ'', sculpted in
Carrara marble
Carrara marble, Luna marble to the Romans, is a type of white or blue-grey marble popular for use in sculpture and building decor. It has been quarried since Roman times in the mountains just outside the city of Carrara in the province of Massa ...
by renowned Irish neoclassical sculptor
John Hogan in 1854. Having seen earlier versions of this work by Hogan in Dublin and Cork, Bishop Fleming left funds and directions in his last will and testament that a "Dead Christ by Hogan" be purchased for the Cathedral. Prior to coming to Newfoundland, Fleming's successor, Bishop Mullock, also had a version of the Hogan ''Dead Christ'' installed in his own chapel, the South Chapel in Cork. Mullock commissioned this rendering of the work in 1854 and placed it beneath the table of the High Altar on 19 March 1855. The statue is Hogan's greatest masterpiece and is the final of three similar statues created by Hogan in the early 19th century and the only one located outside Ireland. The Basilica also features works by Ireland's most eminent expatriate sculptor,
John Edward Carew, whose famous bas-relief ''The Death of Nelson'' is located on the plinth at
Nelson's Column
Nelson's Column is a monument in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, Central London, built to commemorate Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson's decisive victory at the Battle of Trafalgar over the combined French and Spanish navies, during whic ...
,
Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster, Central London, laid out in the early 19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. At its centre is a high column bearing a statue of Admiral Nelson comm ...
, London.
The Sacred Heart Altar and the Altar of the Immaculate Conception, located on the west and east sides of the High Altar in the Sanctuary, respectively, are constructed from the same Egyptian
travertine
Travertine ( ) is a form of terrestrial limestone deposited around mineral springs, especially hot springs. It often has a fibrous or concentric appearance and exists in white, tan, cream-colored, and even rusty varieties. It is formed by a p ...
that was used by
Pope Gregory XVI
Pope Gregory XVI ( la, Gregorius XVI; it, Gregorio XVI; born Bartolomeo Alberto Cappellari; 18 September 1765 – 1 June 1846) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 2 February 1831 to his death in 1 June 1846. He ...
, to decorate the high altar of the
Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls in Rome. A small quantity of this stone remained in Rome and, of this, two portions were offered by the Pope to Bishop Mullock, who subsequently brought the stone to St. John's in 1856 to complete the interior of the Basilica.
In 1955 a great
pipe organ from the world-renowned
Casavant Frères
Casavant Frères is a Canadian organ building company in Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, which has been building pipe organs since 1879. As of 2014, the company has produced more than 3,900 organs.
Company history
Brothers Joseph-Claver (1855–1 ...
firm of St-Hyacinthe, Québec was installed as a memorial to the parishioners who died in World War I and World War II. The 66 stop organ with 4,050 pipes is the largest instrument in
Newfoundland, and is one of the largest pipe organs east of
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...
.
Basilica Museum
The Basilica Museum is open seasonally, and is located in the Episcopal Library attached to the Archbishop's Palace. Exhibits include religious art, historic and religious artifacts of the Basilica, pictures of bishops and archbishops of St. John's, and furniture and decorations of several period rooms in the Palace. Both the Episcopal Library and Archbishop's Palace are in their own rights National Historic Sites of Canada
Burials
*Buried in the crypt under the High Altar are:
*Archbishop of St. John's:
**
Edward Patrick Roche
Edward Patrick Roche (1874-1950) was a Newfoundlander prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of St. John's from 1915 to 1950. At the time of his appointment and until 1949, Newfoundland was not part of Canada and so h ...
*Bishop of St. John's:
**
Thomas Scallan
Thomas may refer to:
People
* List of people with given name Thomas
* Thomas (name)
* Thomas (surname)
* Saint Thomas (disambiguation)
* Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church
* Thomas the A ...
**
John T. Mullock
** Thomas Joseph Power
**
Michael Anthony Fleming
Michael Anthony Fleming, O.S.F. ( – July 14, 1850) was an Irish-born Friar Minor who served as the Roman Catholic Church bishop of the Diocese of St. John's, Newfoundland. He was principally responsible for changing a small mission wi ...
See also
*
Architecture of St. John's
The architecture of St. John's, in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, has a style distinct from that of the rest of Canada, and its major buildings are remnants of its history and prestige as the first British colonial capital. The city of St. J ...
References
External links
*
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. John'sBasilica Heritage Foundation Inc. websiteHeritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador listing
{{Authority control
John the Baptist
John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...
John the Baptist
John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...
Roman Catholic churches in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
National Historic Sites in Newfoundland and Labrador
Museums in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
Religious museums in Canada
Romanesque Revival church buildings in Canada
Roman Catholic churches in Newfoundland and Labrador
Roman Catholic churches on the National Historic Sites of Canada register
19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Canada
Solar alignment