The Basilica Cathedral of St. John the Baptist - St. John's, Newfoundland - Atlantic Canada Heritage Properties on Waymarking.com

Easily the largest and most impressive church building in the St. John's Ecclesiastical District, and probably in all of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador.

A thorough description of the grand building is provided on the parish website. The following is a modified version of that text:

The church is built in the form of a cross and in the style of a Roman Basilica. It is 246.5' long, and 186.5' in the transept; the facade is 99' wide. It is, with the exception of the low side aisles, faced with cut limestone from Galway, Ireland, and the quoines, mouldings, cornices, window-frames, and string and felt courses, are of Dublin granite. The facade is flanked by two towers, 150 feet high. The nave and the transepts are each 52 feet wide, without including the pillars. The low side aisles, or "ambulatories", are 12 feet wide and open into the main building by a series of elegant arches. The walls are ornamented with Corinthian pillasters, surmounted by a cornice 13 feet wide; and the arches are artistically decorated. The ceiling of the nave is flat, enriched with elaborate centrepieces, and panels, but that of the ambulatories forms a succession of groined arches, corresponding to the arches that open into the nave. The apse of the church is semi-circular, and the forms the choir behind the High Altar. The architect actually responsible for the design of the Basilica was John Philpot Jones of Clonmel, Co. Tipperary, Ireland. However, Bishop Fleming also visited Hamburg, Germany, where he consulted a second architect, named Schmidt, who prepared the detailed plans and a scale model of the new church (a half inch to a foot), exact and complete inside and out, that could be followed during its construction. He also hired a Michael McGrath of Waterford, Ireland, to supervise the construction. Because of differences of opinion, the original builder was later replaced by James Purcell. When consecrated on September 9, 1855, the Basilica's cost was placed at half-a-million dollars, principally raised by the fishermen of the country, an amazing testament to their enduring faith, and to the zeal of their Bishop and clergy. The East Tower of the Basilica originally contained a "Town Clock", manufactured by Borrel of Paris, with a dial in enamelled lava. The hours and half-hours were struck on the great bell (the Bourdon) and could be heard for miles around. There was a matching sundial in the West Tower but this was removed some years ago. In 1954, the mechanical works of the clock were converted to an electrical system, and a new dial was installed. The East Tower also contains the largest and the first of the nine bells currently in the possession of the Basilica. This bell was purchased by Bishop Mullock in February, 1850. Struck by James Murphy of Dublin, it was the largest ever cast in Ireland at that time, and won a Gold Medal at the Dublin Exhibition of Irish Manufacturers. The bell, a massive piece, weighs nearly two tons. Upon its arrival in St. John's in February, 1851, it was hauled by hand to the Basilica, and installed in the East Tower. For a number of years the bells were rarely rung because of the condition of the towers, and of the frames and supports of the bells. However, in 1954-55 extensive repairs were carried out on the belfries. Now, on special occasions, the sweet sounds of the Joy Bells ring out once again over the city. Source: thebasilica.ca/basilica-tour; accessed April 2019

The Basilica Cathedral of St. John the Baptistwas designated as a National Historic Site of Canada on November 18, 1983. A plaque affixed to the church exterior wall reads:

BASILICA OF ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST LA BASILIQUE ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST The Roman Catholic Church was formally established in Newfoundland by Irish settlers at the end of the 18th century and since that time has played a key role in the religious, political and social history of the province. The Basilica of St. John the Baptist stands as the principal symbol of the church in Newfoundland. Begun in 1841 it was an ambitious project for its time and reflected the intent of Bishop Michael. Anthony Fleming to erect a cathedral of unusual elegance, extent and beauty. The design, inspired by romanesque churches of Italy, was one of the earliest examples of this stylistic revival in North America. Établie à Terre-Neuve par les colons irlandais à la fin du XVIIIe siècle, l'Église catholique y a joué un rôle clé dans l'histoire religieuse, politique et sociale. La basilique St. John the Baptist est le principal symbole de cette influence considérable. La construction en fut commencée en 1841. Elle concrétise le désir de l'évêque Michael Anthony Fleming d'avoir un bâtiment qui soit à la fois somptueux, grand et beau. Inspirée des églises romanes d'Italie, elle est un des premiers exemples du renouveau du style en Amérique du Nord.

The church building is also a City of St. John's Heritage Building and a Provincial Registered Heritage Structure. The following description of the building and it's significance is taken from the Canadian Register of Historic Places website:

Description of Historic Place

The Basilica of St. John the Baptist is a massive, stone cathedral built in the mid 19th century in the Lombard Romanesque Revival style. It forms the core of a complex of religious buildings comprised of the bishop’s residence and library, a school (St. Bonaventure’s College), two monasteries and two convents. The Basilica is prominently located on an elevated site, overlooking the city of St. John’s, Newfoundland and its harbour. The formal recognition consists of the Basilica on its footprint.

Heritage Value

The Basilica of St. John the Baptist was designated a national historic site in 1983 because of its important role in the religious, political and social history of its region, and its Lombard Romanesque architectural style.

The Roman Catholic Church has played a very important role in the religious, political and social history of Newfoundland. The Pope officially recognized Newfoundland as a separate ecclesiastical territory in 1784. However, despite the significant numbers of Roman Catholics who immigrated to Newfoundland from Ireland during the 18th and early 19th centuries, their rights with respect to worship, education, property and political participation were severely restricted until 1832, when representative government was granted to Newfoundland and restrictions on Catholics were lifted. Catholics bishops began to play an increasingly important role in Newfoundland’s social relations and its educational system. They also maintained strong links with civil authorities during various disputes that threatened to divide Newfoundlanders on religious lines.

The Basilica of St. John the Baptist symbolizes the status of the Roman Catholic Church in Newfoundland. Built between 1839 and 1850, and consecrated as the cathedral for Newfoundland in 1855, it was elevated to the status of a basilica a century later to reflect its historic and religious significance. It is part of a complex of Church buildings, constructed with the financial support of Catholics across the island, that includes a school and two convents.

The Basilica was built under the direction of Bishop Michael Fleming, who served as bishop from 1830 to 1850. Fleming transformed the face of Roman Catholicism in Newfoundland while maintaining strong ties with his European colleagues. He created many new parishes, hired permanent resident priests and brought in two religious teaching orders of sisters. His greatest preoccupation and most enduring achievement was the construction of the massive cathedral on the height of land overlooking St. John's harbour. Through his personal efforts, land, materials and funding were secured for the building which, when built, was North America's largest church.

The Basilica is a very early North American example of the Lombard Romanesque Revival style. Inspired by 12th-century Italian architecture, the style became popular in the mid-19th century for Roman Catholic churches, especially in North America, due to its association with Rome. The original designs called for the building to be faced with local stone, but the builders used less expensive Irish stone instead. The Irish stone failed under Newfoundland environmental conditions and was gradually replaced with local stone, thereby reflecting original design intentions, but not original materials.

The physical dominance and visibility of the Basilica reinforces the enormous significance of the Catholic church both to St. John’s and to the province of Newfoundland.

Source: Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada, Minutes, Fall 1983; Commemorative integrity Statement, 2000.

Character-Defining Elements

Key elements which relate to the heritage value of the Basilica of St. John the Baptist include:

-features which define the building as a cathedral, including its massive scale, and cruciform plan;
- its Lombard Romanesque Revival style, evident on the exterior in the triple entry, round arched door and window openings, the use of roundels and arcading as decorative motifs, masonry facing material, and twin bell towers with pyramidal roofs;
-the high quality of craftsmanship;
-its facing with local limestone and granite trim;
-its nine bells, including the St. John Bell in the east tower, cast in Ireland by James Murphy (c 1855); the three large bells of the west tower, cast in Dublin (c 1855); and the five smaller bells of the west tower (c 1906);
-interior features associated with the Lombard Romanesque Revival style, including the classically styled High Altar, the repetition of the round arch in the nave and side aisles, pilasters topped with Corinthian capitals, and classically inspired features and detailing;
-the classically styled High Altar with its form, based on a tripartite triumphal arch, with the canopy supported on eight polished granite Corinthian columns, and its use of Caen stone faced with white marble;
-interior features associated with the religious, political and social history of Newfoundland, including a 1905 stained glass window commemorating appointment of the first archbishop of Newfoundland in 1904, a 1955 shrine commemorating the historical ties between Newfoundland and Portugal, and a Casavant organ installed in 1955 to commemorate parishioners who died in World Wars I and II;
-seven stained glass windows by William Warrington;
-marble statuary and carvings by well-known, mid-19th century, Irish, Neo-classical sculptors, including exterior and interior statuary by John Edward Carew (1785-1868), and interior statuary and bas-relief by John Hogan (1800-1858);
-the ornate plaster ceiling designed and crafted in 1903 by Newfoundland artist Dan Carroll and the Conway family of plasterers, and polychromed in 1955 by the Rambusch Decorating Company of New York;
-its functional and spatial relationship to other buildings in the complex, including the convents of the Presentation Sisters, the Sisters of Mercy and the Christian Brothers, the bishop’s residence and library, and St. Bonaventure Boys’ School;
-its prominent, elevated siting on one of the highest pieces of ground in the city, overlooking the city and harbour;
-its orientation towards the harbour;
-viewscapes to and from the Basilica and the harbour.

Source: www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=4139&pid=0

URL of Page from Heritage Register: [Web Link] Site's Own URL: [Web Link] Address of site: 172 Military Road, St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador

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