Small
A highlight of any visit to the Basilica Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador is a tour of the 66 beautiful stained glass windows. Like the Basilica Cathedral itself, the windows represent the tireless effort and generosity of the people of the community of St. John’s over 150 years.
In 1834, when Bishop Michael Anthony Fleming dreamed of building a large and imposing cathedral for Newfoundland, St. John’s was a small town of some 19,000 inhabitants, 14,000 of whom were Catholic. Only the perseverance and spirit of these 19th century immigrants to the new world made the construction of Bishop Fleming’s dream possible. Excavation began in 1839 with men unloading stone from boats in St. John’s harbor, women carrying mortar and bricks in their aprons and Bishop Fleming himself standing waist deep in water loading stones. The entire community of St. John’s and outports, Irish and others, Catholic and Protestant, helped to build the massive cathedral, one of the largest buildings of any kind in North America. In addition to manual labour, the fishermen and sealers of the whole island contributed generously from their meagre earnings to the funds required for the work.
When the Cathedral was completed and consecrated in 1855, furnishings and decorations were sparse, but over the following century stained glass windows were gradually donated by various individuals and community groups. In many ways, these works of art chronicle not only the embellishment of the Basilica Cathedral but also the success of the people and organizations that sponsored them.
