Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace
The
Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace or
Cathédrale de Notre Dame de la Paix, located at 1184 Bishop Street in
Honolulu,
Hawai‘i, is the oldest
Roman Catholic cathedral in continuous use in the
United States. A former
French mission, the cathedral is revered as the site where
Father Damien was
ordained to the priesthood.
Mother Church of the
Diocese of Honolulu, it is located in
downtown Honolulu on the historic Fort Street Mall. It was officially dedicated on
August 15,
1843. The Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace is designated as a
National Historic Landmark on the
National Register of Historic Places.
Edict of Toleration
The cathedral sits on a site donated by Kamehameha III on behalf of the royal government to the missionaries of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, also called the Picpus Fathers, in 1827. The donation was one of a step towards healing a rift created in November 1837 when Protestans pressured Queen Ka‘ahumanu to expel foreign Catholics and imprison native Hawaiians who converted. The Congregational and Presbyterian denominations became the preferred faith tradition. On July 10, 1839, the French frigate Artemise sailed into Honolulu Harbor and issued a manifesto for the freedom of Catholics to worship in Hawai‘i. Kamehameha III's Edict of Toleration dismantled the ban and Catholics had permission to establish its community in the islands.
Establishment
With the return of the missionaries, the Picpus Fathers were charged by the Holy See to establish the Apostolic Vicariate of the Sandwich Islands led by a titular bishop from a cathedral church. Coral stone blocks were transported from the shores of Ala Moana and Kaka‘ako to build the cathedral. When completed, the interior was furnished with a simple wooden altar and lauhala-leaf matted floors. A domed bell tower, the first of its kind in Hawai‘i, was installed. In 1866, the dome bell tower became a wooden spire. The spire was transformed into a concrete tower in 1917 while plaster and white-painted concrete covered the walls.
Bishop Louis Maigret, ss.cc. eventually raised the roof, paneled the ceilings with bronze ornaments, built a gallery overlooking the nave, installed a pipe organ, and fitted stained-glass windows during his tenure. French marble and gilded statues of the Blessed Virgin Mary and her parents Saint Joachim and Saint Anne formed an impressive triptych high above the specially crafted marble altar. The triptych and altar remain today. By the time Bishop Maigret ended his term, the rugged coral church was transformed into an impressive European-style cathedral.
Statue of Our Lady of Peace
On Christmas Eve of 1893, Bishop Gulstan Ropert, ss.cc. dedicated a bronze statue of Our Lady of Peace. It was hoisted onto a pedestal with plaques on four sides engraved in English, French, Portuguese and Hawaiian with the words, In memory of the first Roman Catholic Church, Our Lady of Peace 1827-1893. The statue was a recreation of a sixteenth century wooden carving. The wooden carving is still venerated in the Picpus Convent in Paris.
Early Renovations
Several bishops of Honolulu were discontent with the way the cathedral was built. As a result they commissioned a series of renovations. Bishop Libert H. Boeynames, ss.cc. dreamed of a Gothic cathedral sitting in the middle of Fort Street Mall. In 1910, he constructed an elaborate porch over the cathedral entrance. Tranforming the entire cathedral facade to look Gothic proved too costly. Bishop Stephen Alencastre, ss.cc. stripped the Gothic porch and instead added doric columns. Smaller columns were installed in the interior underneath the gallery. Bishop Alencastre oversaw the tiling of the cathedral roof in Spanish terra cotta. He completed his renovations in time for the 1927 centennial anniversary of the arrival of the first Catholic missionaries. For the celebration, Italy gifted to the cathedral a white marble altar with statues of the Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph.
Later Renovations
Bishop James Joseph Sweeney, the first Bishop of the newly formed diocese, made significant changes to the interior of the cathedral. In 1956, he stripped the wooden cross from the sanctuary and replaced it with an elaborately carved marble crucifix. The same marble was used in the construction of new communion rails. In 1967, the Second Vatican Council mandated a removal of the communion rails. An elaborately carved marble altar was installed to face the congregation for the first time. Cathedral Rector Monsignor Charles Kekumano adorned the walls with precious koa wood wainscot during his tenure. He also installed koa wood doors to give the church a stylish, native Hawaiian flair.
Historical Preservation
In 1992, Bishop Joseph Anthony Ferrario proposed the restoration of the cathedral and commissioned studies for renovations enhancing the beauty of the worship space. Bishop Maigret's ceiling ornaments were treated and cleaned to show their original brilliance. Stained glass windows and clerestory statues were packed and sent away to be professionally restored and preserved by Cathedral Rector Monsignor Terrence Watanabe and his successor, Father Nathan Mamo. Sanctuaries were lowered to create new worship spaces and a new Eucharistic devotional area was created. In the late 1990s, under the leadership of Bishop Francis Xavier Dilorenzo, the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace was scrutinized by restorers and architects to create a plan for total renovation. The total cost of the plan added up to USD $5 million. It is currently raising funds to complete Bishop Dilorenzo's renovation plans.
Bishop of Honolulu
The Bishop of Honolulu is the pastor of the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace. All bishops previous to 1940 were Picpus Fathers. Regular bishops took over after the creation of the diocese.
Apostolic Vicariate of Oriental Oceania
Apostolic Vicariate of the Sandwich Islands
Roman Catholic Diocese of Honolulu
Co-Cathedral of Saint Theresa of the Child Jesus
Based on contemporary cathedral standards, the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace is smaller than most. With the vast growth of the local Catholic population in Hawai‘i, officials of the Diocese of Honolulu advised the consecration of a co-cathedral to also serve as a principal church. The Co-Cathedral of St. Theresa of the Child Jesus is located at 712 North School Street, west of downtown Honolulu. The original church was established in 1931 and was renovated in 1984. That same year, it was elevated to a co-cathedral and houses the bishop's second throne.
Resources
Category:HonoluluCategory:Religion in Hawaii Category:Hawaiian architecture\nCategory:Churches
