Cathedral interior
“O Lord, hear my voice when I call;
have mercy and answer.
Of you my heart has spoken:
‘Seek his face’.”
(Psalm 27)
As you enter the Cathedral, you will no doubt be struck by its lightness and spaciousness. The Cathedral is 210 feet long, 88 feet wide, and ninety feet from the floor to the vault of the ceiling. Originally, the altar stood near the back (north) wall, beneath two tiers of plain glass windows. Seating took the form of wooden benches. Two sacristies were built, occupying the space at the end of the side aisles between the pillars and the outer walls. Somewhat later the main altar with a baldachino was installed, with side altars in front of the two sacristies. This occurred during the episcopate of Bishop Edward John Horan (1858–1874), which also saw the replacement of the benches with the present pews. Between 1880 and 1898 Archbishop Cleary made further changes. He removed the two sacristies and built a new one off the Sanctuary on the west side of the Cathedral. The side altars were moved back against the end walls, and ornamental wooden grilles were placed between the first three pillars on either side of the Sanctuary.
The cathedral nave
In 1969, following Vatican II, the Sanctuary was opened up even further. The altar rail was removed, as was the grille work between the pillars; the main marble altar, which was donated in 1910 by Fr O’Connor of Peterborough, was brought forward for celebration of the Eucharist facing the people, and furnished with a new top. The tabernacle doors and the four angels from the altar were placed in the credence table to the left of the altar. The Last Supper scene from the front of the main altar now forms the front of the Blessed Sacrament altar, before which hangs the original sanctuary lamp dating from 1867. The 1923 marble pulpit, which used to be on the third pillar from the front on the east side, was made into the baptismal font and the ambo (lectern). The Archbishop’s throne, the side chairs and the marble steps were also part of this renovation.
The baptismal font
The current decoration of the interior dates from 1981. In 1910 the New York firm of Panzironi decorated the walls and the ceiling for the first time. The walls were painted in shades of grey, and were embellished with many stencilled decorations. At the same time the angels and saints, which were painted on canvas, were attached to the walls, as were the two large paintings of Our Lady on either side of the present Archbishop’s throne. In 1959 these decorations were renewed, and the present Stations of the Cross were installed to replace the originals, which were painted pictures. (For a reason unknown, the Stations start at the right side of the altar and proceed down the east wall and up the west wall the reverse of the usual order.) The present lighting fixtures were installed at the same time.
replica of Murillo’s ‘Immaculate Conception’ painting
In 1981 a redecoration was carried out by the firm of Oscar Perrin and Son of Ottawa. The colour scheme was considerably lightened; the decorations on the walls were removed, and those in the clerestory simplified. (A clerestory, strictly speaking, has windows. But this seems a useful term to indicate the walls in the central vault of the nave above the level of the aisles, which is where the clerestory traditionally is. )
The Lourdes shrine
The Lourdes Shrine on the west wall and the Crucifixion scene on the east wall were donated in the 1880s, during the episcopacy of Archbishop Cleary, whom we have already seen as an active innovator. However, next to the new towers, his most striking contribution to the beauty of the Cathedral was undoubtedly his replacement of the plain windows by stained glass.