5/5 Kevin L. 5 years ago on Google • 82 reviews
The
construction
did
not
go
to
plan,
however,
with
work
having
to
be
halted
in
1877
due
to
a
lack
of
funds.
The
following
years
saw
more
problems,
with
Bishop
Sillani
dying
in
Rome
in
1878,
and
Fr.
Tabarrani
leaving
Ceylon
in
1880
(and
dying
just
two
years
later
in
Rome).
Nevertheless,
May
1880
saw
Fr.
Bonifiglio
Baldoni
take
charge
of
the
project,
the
four
planned
arches
being
completed
by
the
end
of
August.
Nearly
a
year
later,
"at
11.00,
the
last
keystone
was
driven
in
place.”
The
work
on
most
of
the
main
portion
of
the
cathedral,
despite
the
many
problems
in
funding,
had
been
completed.
The
church
celebrated
"the
Great
Day",
with
Bishop
Clement
Pagnani
(now
Vicar
Apostolic
of
Colombo)
blessing
the
nave
and
the
aisles
of
the
new
Cathedral
and
opening
it
for
public
worship.
The
highlight
of
the
day
was
the
first
Holy
Mass
offered
for
the
benefactors
of
the
Cathedral.
Construction
was
far
from
done,
however,
and
in
1883
the
new
Vicar
Apostolic,
Bishop
Bonjean,
appointed
Fr.
Tanganelli
to
carry
on
the
building
of
the
cathedral.
Less
than
a
year
later,
both
men
had
left
Ceylon
(Bonjean
to
Rome,
and
Tanganelli
to
China),
leaving
the
project
in
the
hands
of
Fr.
Joseph
Mary
Louise
Boisseau.
Boisseau,
by
1885,
had
completed
work
on
the
Sanctuary
vault
and
the
Southern
vault,
with
the
final
one
being
completed
in
December
of
that
year.
It
would
not
be
until
1902,
however,
that
the
last
of
the
work
would
be
completed
and
the
scaffolding
removed.
Pope
Leo
XIII,
in
his
apostolic
brief
of
1885
conferred
a
number
of
privileges
on
St.
Lucia’s
Cathedral,
one
of
which
was
it
being
declared
the
Cathedral
Church
of
the
'Vicariate
of
Colombo’.
Bishop
Bonjean
returned
to
the
island
soon
after
this,
bringing
with
him
an
authentic
portion
of
the
bones
of
St.
Lucy,
which
are
preserved
in
the
cathedral
to
this
day.
6
January
1887
was
a
significant
date
for
Catholicism
in
Ceylon:
the
Church's
hierarchy
was
formally
established,
and
the
first
Episcopal
Synod
was
held
in
the
country.
A
Papal
Delegate
and
the
Bishops
of
the
Island
were
gathered
in
the
Cathedral
to
witness
this
singular
event
in
the
history
of
the
Church
of
Ceylon.
On
12
December,
the
vigil
for
the
feast
of
St.
Lucy,
the
patroness
of
the
newly
completed
Cathedral,
was
formally
held.
With
construction
still
ongoing,
September
1889
saw
the
crypt
dedicated
to
the
Sacred
Passion
of
the
Lord
being
declared
open
for
public
worship.
The
first
Holy
Mass
was
celebrated
on
the
first
Friday
of
that
month.
By
the
end
of
the
construction
project,
the
church
had
costed
a
total
of
Rs.
160,000-
an
enormous
amount
of
money
in
the
last
century,
provided
by
the
Ceylonese
Catholics
of
the
time.
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