The Cathedral-Basilica of Saint Peter and Paul, also called Saint Peter and Paul Cathedral ( Dutch: ''Sint-Petrus-en-Pauluskathedraal''), is a wooden

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

located in the centre of the capital city of

Paramaribo, Suriname Paramaribo ( , , ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of Suriname, located on the banks of the Suriname River in the Paramaribo District. Paramaribo has a population of roughly 241,000 people (2012 census), almost half of Suriname's p ...

. The Catholic congregation in the city originally used a church adapted in 1826 from a Dutch Jewish theatre built in 1809. As the years passed, the church became too small for the growing number of Catholics in the city. In 1882 the diocese decided to build the

. It was consecrated in 1885, but the towers were not completed until 1901. A major restoration was completed in 2010 and the cathedral was re-opened. The cathedral was designated as a

minor basilica Basilicas are Catholic church buildings that have a designation, conferring special privileges, given by the Pope. Basilicas are distinguished for ceremonial purposes from other churches. The building need not be a basilica in the architectura ...

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

in 2014.

History

In 1826 the Roman Catholic Church in Paramaribo adapted ''De Verrezene Phoenix,'' a former Dutch Jewish theatre built in 1809, to use as a church. In 1858 it was designated as a cathedral when a diocese was established in Paramaribo and a bishop assigned. When the congregation outgrew the building, the diocese decided to build a new cathedral. It was designed by Frans Harmes. Construction of the cathedral began January 30, 1883, on the site of ''De Verrezene Phoenix''. The cathedral interior is built of unpainted Surinamese cedar. Although it was

consecrated Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

in 1885, the towers were not completed until 1901. A poorly done restoration was completed in 1977, but the building began to fall into disrepair, encountering problems with tilting and

termites Termites are a group of detritophagous eusocial cockroaches which consume a variety of decaying plant material, generally in the form of wood, leaf litter, and soil humus. They are distinguished by their moniliform antennae and the sof ...

. In 2002 an extensive renovation was completed and the cathedral was returned to usable condition. With help of

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

-funding, formal restoration of the cathedral began in 2007 and, after three years, the church was re-opened on November 13, 2010. In 2009 the gate to the cathedral turned 200 years old.

Structure

The Saint Peter and Paul Cathedral is the largest wooden structure in the

Western Hemisphere The Western Hemisphere is the half of the planet Earth that lies west of the Prime Meridian (which crosses Greenwich, London, United Kingdom) and east of the 180th meridian.- The other half is called the Eastern Hemisphere. Geopolitically, ...

. The cathedral has two confession rooms. The Dutch-Surinamese priest Peter Donders, who had attended to

lepers Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a Chronic condition, long-term infection by the bacteria ''Mycobacterium leprae'' or ''Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the Peripheral nervous system, nerves, respir ...

in Batavia, is buried in here.

Measurements

* long * high in the main hall * wide * high in the tower up to the bronze cross This makes the

the biggest and tallest wooden structure in the Western Hemisphere. The cathedral has space for about 900 people and was initially built for

freedmen A freedman or freedwoman is a person who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, slaves were freed by manumission (granted freedom by their owners), emancipation (granted freedom as part of a larger group), or self- ...

and contract laborers.

Bells

The building has three bells in the west tower. The name of the smallest bell is ''Alfhonsus'' and it weighs 222 kg. The biggest bell is named ''John'' and it weighs 827 kg. The middle one is named ''Rosa,'' and it weighs 413 kg.

Pipe organ

The

pipe organ The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurised air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a Musical keyboard, keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single tone and pitch, the pipes are provide ...

was constructed in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

and initially contained 1,550 pipes. Many of the pipes have been stolen over the years, leaving the organ with a value of 400 euros. After restoration, it is expected to have a value of around 10 million euros.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Peter And Paul Cathedral, Paramaribo Churches in Paramaribo Catholic pilgrimage sites Cathedrals in the Caribbean Roman Catholic cathedrals in South America Roman Catholic churches in Suriname Roman Catholic churches completed in 1901 Wooden buildings and structures in Suriname Wooden churches 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings