Our Lady of Assumption Co-Cathedral
Encyclopedia
The cathedral of the francophone
former Roman Catholic Diocese of Gravelbourg, Saskatchewan
, for sixty-eight years, and originally dedicated to St. Philomena, the parish church of Gravelbourg became the Cathedral of St. Philomena July 27, 1930 and was renamed the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption in 1965. On September 14, 1998, Pope John Paul II suppressed the Diocese, merging it with the Archdiocese of Regina -- a reflection of the steady depopulating of rural Saskatchewan. Our Lady of Assumption Cathedral was then designated a co-cathedral
of the archdiocese.
According to the Archdiocese of Regina website,
The Institute for stained glass in Canada has documented the stained glass at Our Lady of Assumption Co-Cathedral.
Francophone
The adjective francophone means French-speaking, typically as primary language, whether referring to individuals, groups, or places. Often, the word is used as a noun to describe a natively French-speaking person....
former Roman Catholic Diocese of Gravelbourg, Saskatchewan
Gravelbourg, Saskatchewan
-Education:The town has for the past four decades been noteworthy for College Mathieu, a francophone boarding school for boys and girls who wish to acquire or retain fluency in French...
, for sixty-eight years, and originally dedicated to St. Philomena, the parish church of Gravelbourg became the Cathedral of St. Philomena July 27, 1930 and was renamed the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption in 1965. On September 14, 1998, Pope John Paul II suppressed the Diocese, merging it with the Archdiocese of Regina -- a reflection of the steady depopulating of rural Saskatchewan. Our Lady of Assumption Cathedral was then designated a co-cathedral
Co-cathedral
A co-cathedral is a cathedral church which shares the function of being a bishop's seat, or cathedra, with another cathedral. Instances of this occurred in England before the Protestant Reformation in the dioceses of Bath and Wells, and of Coventry and Lichfield, hence the names of these dioceses...
of the archdiocese.
According to the Archdiocese of Regina website,
The architect, J. E. Fortin of Montreal, chose a style that combines Romanesque and Italian Renaissance. The church measures 54.8 metres in length, 25.9 metres in width at the transept, 15.8 metre in the nave and is 19.8 metres in height. It accommodates up to 1,500 people. Twin towers at the west end are capped with cupolas rising to a height of 53.3 metres. The building is steel frame with outer walls of tan-coloured brick trimmed with Indiana stone. Construction began in 1918 and the Most Reverend O. E. Mathieu, Archbishop of Regina, consecrated the completed structure on November 5, 1919. The interior decoration is entirely by Msgr. Charles Maillard, pastor of Gravelbourg, who carried out the work over a period of ten years from 1921 to 1931. The nave interior was altered in the 1960s to bring the church into conformity with the liturgical requirements issued by the Second Vatican CouncilSecond Vatican CouncilThe Second Vatican Council addressed relations between the Roman Catholic Church and the modern world. It was the twenty-first Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church and the second to be held at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. It opened under Pope John XXIII on 11 October 1962 and closed...
.
The Institute for stained glass in Canada has documented the stained glass at Our Lady of Assumption Co-Cathedral.