St. Mary's Cathedral (Calgary)
Encyclopedia
St. Mary's Cathedral in Calgary
, Alberta
, Canada
is a Roman Catholic cathedral
. The building’s full name is The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
, due to the settlement of Father Albert Lacombe
in the area in 1884. The original Catholic mission was called Notre-Dame-de-la-Paix. The land was used to establish a French speaking incorporated village called Rouleauville
, which subsequently became overwhelmingly English and was annexed by Calgary in 1907 (making St. Mary's part of Calgary). The same land obtained by Lacombe was also used to build St. Mary's School
nearby.
When the Diocese of Calgary was formed on November 30, 1912 by Pope Pius X
, St. Mary’s became the Cathedral as the seat of the Bishop.
Demolition of the sandstone cathedral began on July 21, 1955, and on October 30, 1955 the cornerstone for the Cathedral was laid. Construction was completed in February 1957, and was officially consecrated on December 11, 1957 by the Most Reverend Francis P. Carroll, Bishop of Calgary.
The cathedral is built in a modern gothic style. The floor plan is a St. Anthony
's Cross (T or Tau
-shaped) rather than the usual Latin cross that forms most Western Christian churches.
The tabernacle
, chalices, monstrance
, candle holders and sanctuary lamp were all designed and cast by Gunning and Son Bronze Works of Dublin, Ireland.
The stained glass throughout the cathedral was commissioned from the Franz Mayer Company of Munich, Germany.
The pulpit was designed by the architects and built from hand carved oak by the Globe Furniture Company of Waterloo, Ontario
. The carvings depict the figures of Christ and the four major prophets: Isaiah
, Jeremiah, Ezechiel and Daniel
.
Mounted over the main doors is a 16-foot statue of the Virgin Mary with Child in cast stone, designed by the Calgary sculptor Luke Lindoe.
Senator Pat Burns donated four 750-pound bells in to the church in 1904 that were cast by the Paccard Foundry
in Anneey, France. These four bells are the only parts from the old building used in the construction of the new Cathedral.
Calgary
Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...
, Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
is a Roman Catholic cathedral
Cathedral
A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...
. The building’s full name is The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
History
St. Mary’s began as a sandstone church in 1889, built near the Elbow River on land provided by the Canadian Pacific Railway. The area was called the Mission DistrictMission, Calgary
The Mission district is an inner city neighbourhood of Calgary, Alberta, Canada that originated as Notre Dame de la Paix, a Catholic mission, and was for a time the incorporated Village of Rouleauville...
, due to the settlement of Father Albert Lacombe
Albert Lacombe
Albert Lacombe , commonly known in Alberta simply as Father Lacombe, was a French-Canadian Roman Catholic missionary who lived among and evangelized the Cree and Blackfoot First Nations of western Canada...
in the area in 1884. The original Catholic mission was called Notre-Dame-de-la-Paix. The land was used to establish a French speaking incorporated village called Rouleauville
Mission, Calgary
The Mission district is an inner city neighbourhood of Calgary, Alberta, Canada that originated as Notre Dame de la Paix, a Catholic mission, and was for a time the incorporated Village of Rouleauville...
, which subsequently became overwhelmingly English and was annexed by Calgary in 1907 (making St. Mary's part of Calgary). The same land obtained by Lacombe was also used to build St. Mary's School
St. Mary's High School (Calgary)
St. Mary's High School is a Canadian secondary school in Calgary, Alberta, operated by the Calgary Catholic School District . The school is well known in Calgary for its historical significance...
nearby.
When the Diocese of Calgary was formed on November 30, 1912 by Pope Pius X
Pope Pius X
Pope Saint Pius X , born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto, was the 257th Pope of the Catholic Church, serving from 1903 to 1914. He was the first pope since Pope Pius V to be canonized. Pius X rejected modernist interpretations of Catholic doctrine, promoting traditional devotional practices and orthodox...
, St. Mary’s became the Cathedral as the seat of the Bishop.
Demolition of the sandstone cathedral began on July 21, 1955, and on October 30, 1955 the cornerstone for the Cathedral was laid. Construction was completed in February 1957, and was officially consecrated on December 11, 1957 by the Most Reverend Francis P. Carroll, Bishop of Calgary.
Architecture
- Architects: Maxwell BatesMaxwell BatesMaxwell Bates, CM was a Canadian architect and expressionist painter.Born in Calgary, Alberta in 1906, Bates started painting at an early age; his piece In the Kitchen was painted when he was 15 years old. As a young adult, he worked for his father's architecture firm...
and Alfred Hodges - Engineer: Jan Bobrowski and Partners
- Contractor: Bird Construction Company Ltd.
- Cost: $1,000,000 CADCanadian dollarThe Canadian dollar is the currency of Canada. As of 2007, the Canadian dollar is the 7th most traded currency in the world. It is abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or C$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies...
Anthony the Great
Anthony the Great or Antony the Great , , also known as Saint Anthony, Anthony the Abbot, Anthony of Egypt, Anthony of the Desert, Anthony the Anchorite, Abba Antonius , and Father of All Monks, was a Christian saint from Egypt, a prominent leader among the Desert Fathers...
's Cross (T or Tau
Tau
Tau is the 19th letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals it has a value of 300.The name in English is pronounced , but in modern Greek it is...
-shaped) rather than the usual Latin cross that forms most Western Christian churches.
The tabernacle
Church tabernacle
A tabernacle is the fixed, locked box in which, in some Christian churches, the Eucharist is "reserved" . A less obvious container, set into the wall, is called an aumbry....
, chalices, monstrance
Monstrance
A monstrance is the vessel used in the Roman Catholic, Old Catholic, and Anglican churches to display the consecrated Eucharistic host, during Eucharistic adoration or Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. Created in the medieval period for the public display of relics, the monstrance today is...
, candle holders and sanctuary lamp were all designed and cast by Gunning and Son Bronze Works of Dublin, Ireland.
The stained glass throughout the cathedral was commissioned from the Franz Mayer Company of Munich, Germany.
The pulpit was designed by the architects and built from hand carved oak by the Globe Furniture Company of Waterloo, Ontario
Waterloo, Ontario
Waterloo is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada. It is the smallest of the three cities in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, and is adjacent to the city of Kitchener....
. The carvings depict the figures of Christ and the four major prophets: Isaiah
Isaiah
Isaiah ; Greek: ', Ēsaïās ; "Yahu is salvation") was a prophet in the 8th-century BC Kingdom of Judah.Jews and Christians consider the Book of Isaiah a part of their Biblical canon; he is the first listed of the neviim akharonim, the later prophets. Many of the New Testament teachings of Jesus...
, Jeremiah, Ezechiel and Daniel
Daniel
Daniel is the protagonist in the Book of Daniel of the Hebrew Bible. In the narrative, when Daniel was a young man, he was taken into Babylonian captivity where he was educated in Chaldean thought. However, he never converted to Neo-Babylonian ways...
.
Mounted over the main doors is a 16-foot statue of the Virgin Mary with Child in cast stone, designed by the Calgary sculptor Luke Lindoe.
Senator Pat Burns donated four 750-pound bells in to the church in 1904 that were cast by the Paccard Foundry
Fonderie Paccard
Fonderie Paccard is a French foundry founded in 1796, which has cast more than 120,000 bells located throughout the world. The foundry has been continuously operated for seven generations by the Paccard family. The largest bell cast by Paccard is the World Peace Bell....
in Anneey, France. These four bells are the only parts from the old building used in the construction of the new Cathedral.