Holy Rosary Cathedral

While it’s unusual for Europeans to find a Gothic cathedral between two skyscrapers, in North America it’s quite the norm. The building on your left is the Holy Rosary Cathedral. Its construction began in 1899, on the site of an earlier church of the same name. Father Patrick Fay, chaplain to the Canadian railroad workers, was chosen to be the parish priest. According to the legend, he went to the water’s edge to look out over the forest that covered present-day Vancouver. He then chose the site of the tallest tree to build his church. In 1886, the construction of a small wooden church began. It was completed and consecrated two years later. By this time, Vancouver went through a period of great popularity and its population grew rapidly. Makeshift renovations weren’t cutting it anymore, and it was decided to build a new church in the style of the medieval Chartres Cathedral in France. Holy Rosary Cathedral was to be hailed as the finest religious edifice West of Toronto and North of San Francisco. Elevated to the rank of cathedral in 1916, it became the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver. If you’d like to see inside, don’t hesitate to push open the doors. The cathedral is decorated with 21 remarkable stained glass windows, 5 of which were painted by Italian-Canadian artist Guido Nincheri, depicting various scenes from the life of Jesus. As you approach the entrance, you may be surprised to find a statue of a man lying on a bench. This is a copy of “Homeless Jesus”, by sculptor Timothy Schmalz. The original is installed in front of the University of Toronto’s Theological College, and over 100 casts of the statue have been installed around the world. This representation of Jesus reveals him homeless, asleep on a bench, his body and face covered by a blanket, with only his feet sticking out, marked by the scars of crucifixion, thus revealing his identity. This artwork is provocative and aims to make people think about Jesus’ message and about the global homelessness crisis.