Sacred Heart Cathedral is a Romanesque-style church that serves as the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kamloops. It is located in the

downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business distric ...

area of

Kamloops Kamloops ( ) is a city in south-central British Columbia, Canada, at the confluence of the South flowing North Thompson River and the West flowing Thompson River, east of Kamloops Lake. It is located in the Thompson-Nicola Regional District, w ...

at the intersection of Nicola Street and 3rd Avenue. The construction of the cathedral began in 1921, a few blocks from the site of an earlier church by the same name that had burned down two years earlier. It opened in December 1925 and is now listed on the city's Heritage Walking Tour by the City of Kamloops Museum and Archives.

History

Original structure (1887–1919)

The original church was situated between 1st and 2nd Avenue on Battle Street and was constructed out of wood. Robert Henry Lee was hired to be the architect, while Alfred and William Hill were responsible for the construction. When it opened on December 17, 1887, Sacred Heart church became the first Roman Catholic church built in Kamloops. The first mass was said by Father LeJeune. A mission house was built adjacent to the church in 1889. On

Ash Wednesday Ash Wednesday is a holy day of prayer and fasting in many Western Christian denominations. It is preceded by Shrove Tuesday and falls on the first day of Lent (the six weeks of penitence before Easter). It is observed by Catholics in the Rom ...

of 1919 (March 5), the church along with its

rectory A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of religion. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, parsonage, rectory or vicarage. Function A clergy house is typically ow ...

were destroyed by fire. Shortly afterwards, the accompanying mission house was demolished.

Present-day cathedral

Construction of a new church began at a new site on Nicola Street and 3rd Avenue in 1921. W.H. Macaulay was chosen to be the architect. Masses were initially conducted in the church basement until the church was completed in December 1925.

Architecture

The cathedral was built in a Romanesque style and is noted for its

stained glass windows Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

, the ornate high altar and

reredos A reredos ( , , ) is a large altarpiece, a screen, or decoration placed behind the altar in a church. It often includes religious images. The term ''reredos'' may also be used for similar structures, if elaborate, in secular architecture, for ex ...

, the

balustrade A baluster is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its con ...

at the staircase in the front entrance, the

bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell tower ...

topped with a

dome A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...

and the use of red brick for the exterior. The cathedral was later expanded when a west wing was constructed.

References

External links

* {{Portal bar, Catholicism, Canada

Sacred Heart The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus ( la, Cor Jesu Sacratissimum) is one of the most widely practised and well-known Catholic devotions, wherein the heart of Jesus is viewed as a symbol of "God's boundless and passionate love for mankind". This devo ...

Buildings and structures in Kamloops Church buildings with domes Roman Catholic churches completed in 1925