The Cathedral of Saint Mary the Crowned ( es, Catedral de Santa María la Coronada) is a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominatio ...

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

. It is the primary centre of Catholic worship in the Diocese of Gibraltar.

History

15th century

The original building of the current cathedral was built during the Spanish period. Just after the reconquest of the city to the

Moors The term Moor, derived from the ancient Mauri, is an exonym first used by Christian Europeans to designate the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a distinct or ...

, the main

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

was decreed to be stripped of its Islamic past and consecrated as the parish church (named ''Santa Maria la Coronada y San Bernardo''). However, under the rule of the

Catholic Monarchs The Catholic Monarchs were Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon, whose marriage and joint rule marked the ''de facto'' unification of Spain. They were both from the House of Trastámara and were second cousins, being bot ...

, the old building was demolished and a new church was erected, in

Gothic style Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths ** Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken ...

. The cathedral's small

courtyard A courtyard or court is a circumscribed area, often surrounded by a building or complex, that is open to the sky. Courtyards are common elements in both Western and Eastern building patterns and have been used by both ancient and contemporary ...

is the remnant of the larger Moorish court of the mosque. The Catholic Monarchs' 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.History of the Cathedral of St Mary the Crowned.

18th to 20th centuries

The church of St. Mary the Crowned was the only Catholic church or institution that was not ransacked by the troops that took over the city in 1704. It was successfully protected by its staunch pastor, Juan Romero, his curate, and his bell-ringer. Thus, it is the only place where Catholic worship has taken place uninterruptedly from the definite Christian re-conquest of the town. Due to the building being severely damaged during the 1779–1783 Great Siege, in 1790 the then

governor of Gibraltar The governor of Gibraltar is the representative of the British monarch in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. The governor is appointed by the monarch on the advice of the British government. The role of the governor is to act as the ...

Sir Robert Boyd Lieutenant-General Sir Robert Boyd KB (c. 1710 – 13 May 1794) was a British Army officer. Life Boyd was baptized on 20 April 1710 at Richmond, Surrey and attended the University of Glasgow before entering the army in his father Ninian's prof ...

, 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 route was re-modelled in 1801 so that Main Street could be straighter. (This drastic change has also been credited to the governor Charles O'Hara.) 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. In 1881 the Church of St Mary's was the site of nearly fifty arrests as the governor of Gibraltar sent police and reassigned soldiers to support Bishop Canilla as he attempted to enter his own church. A self-appointed "Committee of Elders" had said that they intended to take possession of the church and install their own "chief priest" against the will of the governor and the Catholic church. Canilla was sent to his church on 2 March 1881 with police protection to install him in his church. When the new force came to the church they found it was occupied by 200 men and the police had to make four dozen arrests to establish order. Not only did Canilla now have possession of his church but he was also the owner as the governor arranged for the title deeds to be given to the new titular Bishop. Until the 19th century, anyone who died in Gibraltar had the right to be buried under the cathedral floor. Bishops are buried in a crypt beneath the statue of Our Lady of Europe. In 1943,

Władysław Sikorski Władysław Eugeniusz Sikorski (; 20 May 18814 July 1943) was a Polish military and political leader. Prior to the First World War, Sikorski established and participated in several underground organizations that promoted the cause for Polish i ...

's coffin lay in state here, after his plane crashed into the sea just off Gibraltar.

Gallery

File:Cathedral of St Mary the Crowned.JPG, 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.''300 Years of British Gibraltar 1704-2004'' by Peter Bond File:Gibraltar-s-principal-street.jpg, Old photograph of Main Street showing part of the cathedral's façade to the left. Picture from the book ''Gibraltar - John L. Stoddard's Lectures'' (1912), by John L. Stoddard. It shows the old façade built in 1810. File:Cathedral of St. Mary the Crowned courtyard entrance.jpg, Entrance to the cathedral's courtyard. File:Cathedral of St. Mary the Crowned.jpg, View of the cathedral's altar. File:Cathedral of St. Mary the Crowned stained glass window.jpg, Stained-glass window in the cathedral.

References

External links