St. Mary's Cathedral, Cape Town

St. Mary's Cathedral
St. Mary's Cathedral
	The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Flight into Egypt
	St. Mary's Cathedral
	33.928°S 18.4172°E
Location	Cape Town
Country	South Africa
Denomination	Roman Catholic Church
Website	www.stmaryscathedral.org.za
History
Founded	1851
Past bishop(s)	Archbishop Lawrence Henry
Architecture
Architect(s)	German architect Carl Otto Hager. Hager had designed numerous Dutch Reformed Churches in South Africa including the NG Moederkerk in Stellenbosch.
Architectural type	The Cathedral was designed in the neo-Gothic idiom, with the characteristic features such as a high nave and steep roof, side aisles with flat roofs and crenelated parapets, slender in shape, pointed clerestory windows on the inside and an oak screen separating the nave from the entrance porch.
Administration
Deanery	City Bowl
Archdiocese	Metropolitan Archdiocese of Cape Town, South Africa
Province	Western Cape
Clergy
Archbishop	The Most Revd. Stephen Brislin D.D
Bishop(s)	Right Rev. Reginald Cawcutt (Resigned) Right Rev. Sylvester David OMI
Rector	The Very Rev. Rohan Smuts
Vicar(s)	Rev. Fr Peter-John Pearson & Msg Clifford Stokes
Chancellor	Fr Michael Clement
Assistant priest(s)	Rev. Fr Luigi Benini
Laity
Organist/Director of music	Dale de Windt
Organist(s)	Emile Wyngaard

The St. Mary's Cathedral[1][2] more formally known as the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Flight into Egypt, is the cathedral and mother church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cape Town, located in the City Bowl of Cape Town, South Africa.[3][4] in South Africa. It lies in Stalpein directly opposite the Houses of Parliament.

The oldest Catholic cathedral in the country, St. Mary's history is intimately linked with the history and development of the Catholic Church in South Africa over a period of more than 175 years; it is mother church not only to the "Mother City" and the archdiocese, but to all Catholics in Southern Africa.

The local bishop bought land in 1839 and the first stone was laid two years later. The edifice was designed in the Gothic Revival style by Carl Otto Hagger, the architect behind several Dutch Reformed churches which are also listed heritage sites. It was consecrated on April 28, 1851.

A tower was added in 1926 and the sanctuary was remodeled in 1947. In 1951 the church was consecrated as the cathedral when Pope Pius XII elevated the apostolic vicariate of Cape Town to the status of metropolitan archdiocese. Its last restoration was done in 1997.

References

Cathedral of St. Mary of the Flight into Egypt, Cape Town
Denis, Philippe (1998-01-01). The Dominican Friars in Southern Africa: A Social History, 1577-1990. BRILL. ISBN 9004111441.
Elphick, Richard (1997-01-01). Christianity in South Africa: A Political, Social, and Cultural History. University of California Press. ISBN 9780520209404.
Kearney, Paddy (2010-06-01). Guardian of the Light: Denis Hurley: Renewing the Church, Opposing Apartheid. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. ISBN 9781441188557.

The side of the cathedral

Interior of the cathedral

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[1] Cathedral of St. Mary of the Flight into Egypt, Cape Town

[2] Denis, Philippe (1998-01-01). The Dominican Friars in Southern Africa: A Social History, 1577-1990. BRILL. ISBN 9004111441.

[3] Elphick, Richard (1997-01-01). Christianity in South Africa: A Political, Social, and Cultural History. University of California Press. ISBN 9780520209404.

[4] Kearney, Paddy (2010-06-01). Guardian of the Light: Denis Hurley: Renewing the Church, Opposing Apartheid. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. ISBN 9781441188557.