St. Mary’s Cathedral Basilica
In 1784, the repeal of certain penal laws forbidding Catholic worship and land ownership enabled a group of Irish Catholics to buy land on what is now the corner of Spring Garden Road and Barrington Street. They commenced construction of the first Catholic Church in Halifax which was named Saint Peter’s.
St Peter’s Church
In 1801, an Irish priest, Father Edmund Burke, Vicar General and superior of missions for the Diocese of Quebec, was appointed to serve the growing congregation of Saint Peter’s Church. Father Burke quickly realized that Saint Peter’s could no longer accommodate the growing numbers of parishioners.
Building the Cathedral
In 1820 construction began on what was to become the second Catholic cathedral in Canada. In 1833, the church was re-named “Saint Mary’s”. Prior to its construction, Halifax boasted only two masonry buildings - Government House and the Admiral’s House. Even the stone citadel was not constructed until 1829. Saint Mary’s Cathedral was built of local ironstone with a sandstone façade. It resembled cathedrals in Ireland with arched windows and doorways of the Gothic style coupled with pillars of the Georgian style architecture, and galleries on the east and west sides.
When the cathedral was under construction no local craftsman had fashioned a roof of such immense size in Halifax, and therefore shipwrights were hired to build the roof of the new cathedral as they would the hull of a ship. The original adze (planed) beams of the roof are still in place.
Gothic Renovations
In 1860, Archbishop Thomas Connolly hired New York architect Patrick Keely to draw up plans to expand and renovate Saint Mary’s Cathedral. These renovations gave Saint Mary’s the neo-Gothic style we associate with the church today. Archbishop Connolly obtained permission from the British Government to quarry the granite for the façade from the Queen’s Quarry. The exterior gothic style is eclectic, with discernable influences of German, French, and English Gothic.
Originally each original window was adapted and converted into one tall Gothic window. The marks of the alterations are still visible today on the exterior of the Basilica where arches from the original windows are etched above the existing Gothic windows. The cathedral was extended from the original 104 feet to 200 feet, with the old stone church ending at the eighth window. The interior galleries were removed and a vaulted ceiling was added. There is a chapel at the far east side of the sanctuary which was dedicated to Mary, the Mother of God.
The Spire
On September 7th, 1874 the Cross was erected one hundred and eighty nine feet above the sidewalk atop the spire. This spire is said to be the highest free-standing granite spire in North America. Today the basic exterior structure of the Basilica remains the same as it was in 1874 after the completion of renovations.
Modern Renovations
In the late 1950’s Archbishop Gerald Berry initiated renovations and expansion of the sanctuary and sacristy. Doors of red oak adorn the front of the cathedral and were installed during the tenure of Archbishop James M. Hayes (1967-1990). In 1969, to conform to liturgical directions from the Second Vatican Council, a new altar was erected which retained the original pedestals from the high altar of 1865. The Gothic canopy above the tabernacle is the polychrome spire that was part of the high altar from 1865-1965. Twelve crosses, three on each wall of the church, designate the spots where Archbishop Cornelius O’Brien consecrated the Cathedral on October 19th, 1899. Today, twelve gold crosses, three on each wall designate the spots where the sacred Chrism oil was placed during that ceremony. The consecration occurred years after the renovations due to a long standing practice of not consecrating a church until it was paid for.
Bells, Stations of the Cross, and Organ
A set of eleven bells were installed in the steeple and blessed by Archbishop Michael Hannan in 1879. The largest bell weighs 1200 pounds and the smallest 200 pounds. During the Halifax explosion of 1917 some of the bells were cracked and were sent to England to be recast. They were re-installed as part of the first centenary celebration of Saint Mary’s. They honour those from the Cathedral Parish who served during World War I.
The Stations of the Cross were donated to the cathedral and presented to Archbishop Thomas Connolly (tenure 1859-1876). The stations are copies of originals that used to hang in the Lateran Palace in Rome.
The Casavant Frères pipe organ (Opus 2570), installed in 1960, is dedicated to parishioners who served in World War II. It was the first organ of classic design in the Maritimes and is still regarded as one of the finest sounding instruments in Eastern Canada.
Titled a Basilica
In 1950 Pope Pius XII bestowed upon Saint Mary’s Cathedral the honorary title of Basilica. This coincided with the proclamation of the Dogma of the Assumption of Mary that same year. The Government of Canada recognizes Saint Mary’s as a National Historic Site. In 2009, he Canadian Heraldic Authority, on behalf of the Governor General of Canada granted St. Mary’s it’s own Coat of Arms in recognition of it’s status as a Basilica.
Visit of St Pope John Paul II
In the fall of 1984, two hundred years after the repeal of the penal laws of the British Government, his Holiness Pope John Paul II arrived in Halifax to visit the people of Nova Scotia as well as to participate in the celebration of the bicentennial anniversary of the founding of the first Catholic Church in Halifax in 1784. A plaque on the exterior front of the church honors the visit of Pope John Paul II to the Cathedral.