The Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, located in
Derek Walcott Square
Derek Walcott Square (formerly Columbus Square) is a public square and park located in central Castries, Saint Lucia.
The square is bounded by Bourbon, Brazil, Laborie and Micoud Streets.
The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception and the Castr ...
,
Castries,
Saint Lucia,
is the seat of the
Archbishop
In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...
of the
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Castries
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Castries ( la, Archidioecesis Castriensis) is an archdiocese of the Latin Church of the Roman Catholic Church in the Caribbean. The archdiocese consists of the entirety of the former British dependency of Saint Lu ...
, currently
Robert Rivas
Robert Rivas O.P. (born 1946) is the Roman Catholic archbishop of the Archdiocese of Castries in St. Lucia.
Early life
Rivas was born in the village of La Pastora, Arouca, Trinidad and Tobago, on June 7, 1946. He is the son of the late Sab ...
. The cathedral is named after
Mary, mother of Jesus
Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jews, Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Jose ...
, under her title,
Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception
The Immaculate Conception is the belief that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception.
It is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church, meaning that it is held to be a divinely revealed truth w ...
.
The form "Cathedral", as it is commonly known, is the largest church in the
Caribbean
The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...
, measuring by and was given the honorary status of a Minor
Basilica
In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its name ...
on 11 May 1999 as part of the centenary celebrations.
The interior is decorated by a mural by St. Lucian artist
Dunstan St. Omer.
References
Roman Catholic cathedrals in Saint Lucia
Basilica churches in the Caribbean
Buildings and structures in Castries
1899 establishments in the British Empire
1890s establishments in the Caribbean
1899 establishments in North America
Churches completed in 1899
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