Did you know Saint Mary’s Cathedral has multiple cemeteries? Learn more about the changes over the years:
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The story of how Saint Mary’s Cathedral was elevated to a minor basilica. Read the story:
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Although Saint Mary’s Cathedral was outside of the Halifax Explosion blast radius, she was not spared from the terror. Read the story:
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Saint Mary’s Cathedral Basilica has dominated the skyline of Halifax for the past two centuries. Learn about the cathedral’s road to creation:
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Saint Mary’s has long been praised for its bells, choir, and organ, and has been a home for sacred and secular performances for many years. Learn about the cathedral’s music:
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While Saint Mary’s Cathedral Basilica has been a local icon for almost two centuries, it took a major step onto the world stage with the visit of Pope John Paul II in 1984. Learn about the visit here:
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Read the latest Basilica Story about the extensive renovations that have occurred over the past two centuries.
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On 13 December 1783 the Penal laws against Roman Catholics were repealed in Nova Scotia allowing them to practice their own religion and own land. Earlier, when the province’s first Representative Assembly had met in the fall of 1758, one of their first acts was to render Roman Catholics propertyless, enacting a law that stated, “…no Papist hereafter shall have any right or title to hold, possess or enjoy, any land or tenements other than by virtue of any grant or grants from the Crown, but that all deeds or wills, hereafter made, conveying lands or tenements to any Papist, shall be utterly null and void.” And further, that “Every Popish person exercising ecclesiastical jurisdiction and every popish priest or persons exercising the functions of a popish priest, shall depart out of this Province on or before the twenty-fifth of March 1759.” (Source: Laws of Nova Scotia (1758-1803), 32 Geo II Cap 2).
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When Saint Mary’s Cathedral Basilica was originally built around 1820, it was a much less elaborate building than the one you see today. It was constructed of wood, as were almost all of the town’s buildings. Over many years, the cathedral was re-built, expanded and altered to keep up with the growing Catholic community in the busy port town of Halifax.
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Père Pierre Maillard was a young priest in his early 20s when those around him observed his proficiency for languages. By the age of 24, he was serving at the Séminaire des Missions Étrangères (Society of Foreign Missions) in Paris. At the time, a superior noted of Père Maillard, “He is a young priest… full of zeal and piety.”
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