Cathedral of St. Mary the Crowned
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| Cathedral of St Mary the Crowned | |
|---|---|
 The exterior of the Cathedral of St. Mary the Crowned. The statue of the soldier outside the Cathedral is a gift from the Corps of the Royal Engineers to Commemorate the formation in Gibraltar of the Company of Soldier Artificers in 1772, which later became the Royal Engineers in 1856. [1]
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| Information | |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Diocese | Catholic Diocese of Gibraltar |
| Founded | 1462 |
| Founder(s) | Catholic Monarchs |
| Constructed | 1462 |
| Bishop(s) | Charles Caruana |
| Vicar(s) | Paul Bear |
| Contact particulars | |
| Country | Gibraltar |
| Website | Gib Cathedral |
The Cathedral of Saint Mary the Crowned is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Gibraltar. It is the primary centre of Catholic worship in the Diocese of Gibraltar.
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[edit] History
[edit] 15th Century
The cathedral was built during the Spanish period (naming it Catedral Santa María) in 1462, just after the reconquista. It was built on the site of Gibraltar's old mosque dating from the Moorish period, after the Catholic Monarchs decreed it to be stripped of its Islamic past. The cathedral's small courtyard is the remnant of the larger Moorish court of the mosque. Their coat of arms was placed in the courtyard where it can still be seen today. The cathedral extended to the opposite side of what is now Main Street.[2]
[edit] 18th and 19th Century
Due to the building being severely damaged during the 1779 – 1783 Great Siege, in 1790 the then Governor of Gibraltar Sir Robert Boyd offered to rebuild the cathedral in return for part of the land on which the building originally stood in order to re-route Main Street. The reconstruction took place in 1810 and the opportunity was also taken to widen Main Street. The clock tower was added in 1820 and in 1931 restoration work was carried out on the cathedral and the current west façade erected to replace the poorer one built in 1810.[2]
Until the 19th century, anyone who died in Gibraltar had the roght to be buried under the cathedral floor. Bishops are buried in a crypt beneath the statue of Our Lady of Europe where bishops are buried.[2]
[edit] See also
- San Roque, Cádiz (The original statue of St Mary was moved there in 1704, following the British takeover of Gibraltar)
[edit] References
- ^ 300 Years of British Gibraltar 1704-2004 by Peter Bond
- ^ a b c History of the Cathedral of St Mary the Crowned.
[edit] External links
- External view (photograph by Alan Edwards)
- External view (painting by Vin Mifsud)
- St. Mary the Croned, external view (painting by Barry Wilkinson)
- St. Mary the Crowned, stained glass window (painting by Barry Wilkinson)
- Cathedral's own website
- Cathedral information and photos of interior (from the Diocese of Gibraltar)
- Illustrated article
- Photos of the Cathedral exterior [1][2]
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![[1]](http://www.fsc.gi/gibpics/cathedral.jpg){kind=link}
![[2]](http://geo.ya.com/travelimages/gibraltar16.jpg){kind=link}