Saint Ansgar's Cathedral () in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

, is the principal church of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Copenhagen The Diocese of Copenhagen is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church named after its episcopal see, the Danish national capital, Copenhagen and covers all Denmark. The diocese also covers two Danish overseas po ...

, which encompasses all of Denmark, including the

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and

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. It was consecrated in 1842 and became a cathedral in 1941.

History

The first Catholic congregations in Denmark after the

Protestant reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...

were centered on foreign

legations A legation was a diplomatic representative office of lower rank than an embassy. Where an embassy was headed by an ambassador, a legation was headed by a minister. Ambassadors outranked ministers and had precedence at official events. Legation ...

. Starting with the one formed by the

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diplomat (and poet) Count Bernardino de Rebolledo, who served in Denmark between 1648 and 1659, continuous church registers were kept. From its original location at de Rebolledo's residence on Strøget, Østergade the chapel moved around between various legation addresses, but in 1764 it settled at the present location on what is now Bredgade. For some time the Habsburg monarchy, Austrian legation had been the main supporter of the congregation, and the new chapel was financed by Empress Maria Theresia. The present-day church was designed by the German-born architect Gustav Friedrich Hetsch.Sankt Ansgars Kirke
''Den Store Danske'', retrieved 15 August 2013 Construction began in 1840 and the church was consecrated on All Saints' Day, 1 November 1842. During 1988–1992 the church underwent extensive Building restoration, restoration in collaboration with the National Museum of Denmark under the direction of the architect Vilhelm Wohlert. The cathedral possesses a skull relic long believed to be of the early pope Pope Lucius I, St. Lucius. However, the Aarhus University Radiocarbon_dating, radiocarbon-dated the skull to 340–431 AD, eliminating the possibility of belonging to Lucius, who died in 254. Previously, the relic had been in Roskilde Cathedral which was originally dedicated to the saint.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ansgar's Cathedral Churches in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Copenhagen Gustav Friedrich Hetsch buildings Listed religious buildings and structures in Copenhagen 19th-century churches in Denmark Roman Catholic cathedrals in Denmark Roman Catholic churches completed in 1842 Roman Catholic churches in Copenhagen