The Minor Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, is a cathedral built in 1897 which is located in the centre of three well known streets: Peynier Street, Micoud Street and Laborie Street, and is opposite the Derek Walcott Square in

Castries Castries () is the capital city, capital and largest city of Saint Lucia, an island country in the Caribbean. The urban area has a population of approximately 20,000, while the eponymous Castries Quarter, district has a population of just under ...

Saint Lucia Saint Lucia is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. Part of the Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, it is located north/northeast of the island of Saint Vincent (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines), Saint Vincent ...

. It is part of the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Castries The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Castries () is an archdiocese of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church in the Caribbean. The archdiocese consists of the entirety of the former British dependency of Saint Lucia and is a metropolitan see, the suff ...

, currently presided over by Archbishop Gabriel Malzaire. The cathedral is named after

Mary, mother of Jesus Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

, under her title,

Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception The Immaculate Conception is the doctrine 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. Debated by medieval theologians, it was not defined as a ...

History

A church was originally built on the site in 1767. Since this date, several attempts at modernising the building have been made, with construction of a second building starting in 1807, however work stopped in 1827 due to insufficient funds. Work restarted in 1831, with a new church completed by 1835. Father Louis Tapon wrote to the Archbishop in 1885 to request funds to expand the building due to insufficient space, with the foundation stone for the building we see today being laid in 1894. Work was completed by 1897. The building was designed by Father Scoles. Both Father Scoles and Father Tapon have memorials inside the building. The 'Cathedral' as it is commonly known, is the largest church in the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

, measuring by and was given the honorary status of a Minor

Basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica (Greek Basiliké) was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek Eas ...

on 11 May 1999 as part of the centenary celebrations. The interior is decorated by a mural by St. Lucian artist Dunstan St. Omer. The Cathedral received a Papal visit from

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

on 7 July 1986.

Attack in 2000

On New Year's Eve 2000, an attack took place during mass, leaving two people dead and many others injured. Father Charles Gaillard and Sister Theresa Egan died as a result of the attack, in which two men wielding machetes entered the church covering the worshippers in fuel, setting them alight. The two men, Kim John and Francis Phillip, were initially sentenced to death, but upon appeal received life sentences.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cathedral Basilica Of The Immaculate Conception In Castries Roman Catholic cathedrals in the Caribbean Roman Catholic churches 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