The Co-Cathedral of Saint Julian (; ) is a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

co-cathedral A co-cathedral is a cathedral church which shares the function of being a bishop's seat, or ''cathedra'', with another cathedral, often in another city (usually a former see, anchor city of the metropolitan area or the civil capital). Instances o ...

in the town of

Ferrol Ferrol may refer to: Places * Ferrol (comarca), a coastal region in A Coruña, Galicia, Spain * Ferrol, Spain, industrial city and naval station in Galicia, Spain ** Racing de Ferrol, an association football club * Ferrol, Romblon, municipality in ...

(which in ecclesiastical terms belongs to the

Diocese of Mondoñedo-Ferrol In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associated ...

) in the autonomous community of

Galicia, Spain Galicia ( ; or ; ) is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain and nationalities and regions of Spain, historic nationality under Spanish law. Located in the northwest Iberian Peninsula, it includes the provinces o ...

History

The church was erected in 1763, designed by Julián Sánchez Bort, who based his Neoclassical design on the church of

Sant'Andrea delle Fratte Sant'Andrea delle Fratte ("Saint Andrew of the Thickets") is a 17th-century basilica church in Rome, Italy, dedicated to St. Andrew. The Cardinal Priest of the ''Titulus S. Andreae Apostoli de Hortis'' is Ennio Antonelli. History The current ch ...

in Rome and it was built on the site of an old Romanesque church. It was completed in 1772. The church was made co-cathedral along with the

Cathedral of Mondoñedo A cathedral is a church that contains the 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 denominations with an episcop ...

in 1959 via

papal bull A papal bull is a type of public decree, letters patent, or charter issued by the pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the leaden Seal (emblem), seal (''bulla (seal), bulla'') traditionally appended to authenticate it. History Papal ...

from

John XXIII Pope John XXIII (born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death on 3 June 1963. He is the most recent pope to take ...

.Mondonedo-Ferrol Diocese
website and entry on church.

Description

Even if the church is considered neoclassical, its central floor and first proyects were from the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

, it also has the unusual trait of having a

Greek cross The Christian cross, with or without a figure of Jesus, Christ included, is the main religious symbol of Christianity. A cross with a figure of Christ affixed to it is termed a crucifix and the figure is often referred to as the ''corpus'' (La ...

instead of a Latin cross. Its covered with a big

cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, usually dome-like structure on top of a building often crowning a larger roof or dome. Cupolas often serve as a roof lantern to admit light and air or as a lookout. The word derives, via Ital ...

that is not visible from the exterior. Posseses lateral chapels & the mais façade is flanked by two towers with cupolas. Models charateristic of the

Mannerism Mannerism is a style in European art that emerged in the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520, spreading by about 1530 and lasting until about the end of the 16th century in Italy, when the Baroque style largely replaced it ...

movement are present.

Gallery

Concatedral Ferrol 2023 - South Façade.jpg, South façade Concatedral Ferrol 2023 - Apse.jpg, Apse Concatedral Ferrol 2023 - Interior.jpg, Interior Concatedral Ferrol 2023 - Altar.jpg, Altar

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferrol Cathedral 18th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Spain Neoclassical architecture in Galicia (Spain)

Churches in Galicia (Spain) Neoclassical church buildings in Spain