The Cathedral of St Louis ( bg, катедрала „Свети Лудвиг“, ''katedrala „Sveti Ludvig“'') is a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

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 ...

in the city of Plovdiv,

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

. Co-cathedral of the Diocese of Sofia and Plovdiv together with the Cathedral of St Joseph in

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and h ...

, it is one of the largest and most important Roman Catholic places of worship in the country. It was named after Louis IX of France, commonly known as "Saint Louis". The cathedral was constructed in the 1850s, during the time of vicar Andrea Canova. The first organ in Bulgaria was installed in the cathedral in 1861, later replaced with a newer and larger one. A fire severely damaged the cathedral in 1931 and destroyed the wood-carved ceiling. The cathedral was reconstructed, with Krastyo Stamatov creating the frescoes and Kamen Petkov being the main architect. The cathedral was once again inaugurated on 8 May 1932. Architecturally, it features an

eclectic Eclectic may refer to: Music * ''Eclectic'' (Eric Johnson and Mike Stern album), 2014 * ''Eclectic'' (Big Country album), 1996 * Eclectic Method, name of an audio-visual remix act * Eclecticism in music, the conscious use of styles alien to th ...

combination of Neoclassicism and Neo-Baroque. The belfry was built in 1898 and was equipped with five bells cast in the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

city of Bochum, a gift from

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-ol ...

. A new 12-

stop Stop may refer to: Places * Stop, Kentucky, an unincorporated community in the United States * Stop (Rogatica), a village in Rogatica, Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina Facilities * Bus stop * Truck stop, a type of rest stop for truck d ...

pipe organ was installed in 1991.

Princess Marie Louise of Bourbon-Parma , house = Bourbon-Parma , father = Robert I of Parma , mother = Princess Maria Pia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies , spouse = Ferdinand I, Prince of Bulgaria , consort = yes , reign = 20 April 1893 – 31 January 1899 , issue = Boris III Kiril ...

, first wife of

Ferdinand I of Bulgaria , image = Zar Ferdinand Bulgarien.jpg , caption = Ferdinand in 1912 , reign = 5 October 1908 – , coronation = , succession = Tsar of Bulgaria , predecessor = Himself as Prince , successor = Boris III , rei ...

, is buried inside the cathedral, at the far end, to the right of the altar. An inscription in

Bulgarian Bulgarian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria * Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group * Bulgarian language, a Slavic language * Bulgarian alphabet * A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria * Bul ...

and

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

on her life can be read on both sides of the tomb.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cathedral Of Saint Louis, Plovdiv Roman Catholic churches completed in 1861 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Bulgaria Churches in Plovdiv Baroque architecture in Bulgaria Roman Catholic churches in Bulgaria Burial sites of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (Bulgaria) 1861 establishments in the Ottoman Empire Roman Catholic cathedrals in Bulgaria Neoclassical church buildings in Bulgaria