About Holy Rosary Cathedral
This cathedral is a Regina landmark. It has beautiful architecture and immaculate stained glass windows that are stunning from the inside and out. The Cathedral comes alive with Pomp and Circumstance when the magnificent pipe organ is performed, really a gem in the heart of Regina.
History
As a result, Holy Rosary Cathedral serves as both a visual sign of and testimony to Regina's Catholic presence, as well as one of the city's most notable architectural monuments. It would, however, be little more than a museum if it were not accompanied by a real religious community. It is the mother church of more than 125,000 Catholics in southern Saskatchewan, as well as the bishop's seat and second parish home. Every year, over 500 worship services are performed inside its walls, ranging from major diocesan liturgies, episcopal ceremonies, priestly ordinations, and state funerals to modest eucharists attended by a few dozen people. A bustling city parish with a distinctive liturgical role and a special mission as mother church to much of the province's south, the warm sense of community, the dynamic preaching, the special emphasis on youth through children's liturgy, the music of choirs and organ are all signs of a bustling city parish with a distinctive liturgical role and a special mission as mother church to much of the province's south. A robust programme of activity is carried out by a number of parish ministries, including Stephen Ministry, marriage preparation teams, youth outreach, the Catholic Women's League, and the Knights of Columbus. Holy Rosary Cathedral is far from being a museum; it is a thriving Christian community that offers gratitude for its founders' generosity and vision, and looks forward to the future with hope and faith. Several significant restorations of the cathedral interior have occurred as a result of changes in liturgical focus and artistic direction, the most recent being in 1976/7, after a fire at the building's south end, and again in 1992/3.
The Archbishop's cathedra, the chair from which a cathedral church gets its name and which represents the unification of the whole diocese around the bishop, is one of the most notable characteristics. The current cathedra dates from Archbishop Mathieu's reign. The huge mural in the apse is also noteworthy (the curved southern wall of the sanctuary). This magnificent piece of ceramic art, designed and produced by Regina's Lorraine Malach, depicts the Five Glorious Mysteries told in the rosary and was commissioned in 1988 to commemorate the Archdiocese of Regina's 75th anniversary. The McGuigan Organ, named for Regina humanitarian and educator Sr Marion McGuigan, is located in the gallery above the main entrance at the cathedral's north end. The organ, which was built by Casavant Frères of Québec, has almost 3,100 pipes. It is frequently performed in concert by renowned performers from throughout North America and Europe, and is regarded as one of the best cathedral organs in the nation. Regina's cathedral, dedicated to Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary, is one of the province's most magnificent and imposing cathedrals, and has given its name to a section of the city's West end, the Cathedral area, in recent decades. It is a powerful testament to Regina's early Catholics' faith, charity, and optimism for the future. It has two towering, beautiful spires facing heavenward and measures 200' by 90'. The parish Altar Guild gave a big bell to the east tower in 1915. The cathedral's hundreds of magnificent stained glass windows were finished in 1949/50 by Rennes, France-based craftsman André Rault, who said that these windows gave him the greatest joy out of all his work. Nearly 2000 Regina Catholics and curious residents assembled in front of the partly constructed cathedral on June 30, 1913, a little more than a year after the sod was turned, to witness the blessing of the building's cornerstone by the Apostolic Delegate (papal envoy) to Canada. Since the cathedral's completion in 1917, the parish has had eighteen rectors, as well as a significant number of curates and helpers. Fr James Weisgerber (who left in 1990 to take up a position as General Secretary of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops in Ottawa and was named Archbishop of Winnipeg by Pope John Paul II in July 2000), Fr John Weckend (rector from 1990 to 1998), Fr Stephen Bill (rector from 1998-99), and Fr Louis Kubash (who was named rector by Archbishop John Paul II in August 1999) are among recent cathedral priests. When Olivier Mathieu (1853—1929), former rector of Laval University in Québec and first Archbishop of Regina, turned the sod on the 13th Avenue site almost 90 ye, the history of Regina's cathedral church started. The event took place on June 1, 1912, only a month before the Regina Cyclone wreaked havoc on the city's central business district. The Romanesque structure, constructed by Montréal architect J. Fortin and modelled after churches in northern France, cost Smith Brothers and Wilson $135,000 at the time. The cathedral's first rector, Fr David Gillies, conducted the first Mass in the basement of the partly finished building at 8:00 a.m. on December 8, 1912, the feast of the Immaculate Conception.
Mass Schedule
The Archdiocese of Regina and the Catholic communities in southern Saskatchewan are housed at Holy Rosary Cathedral. It was completed in 1912 and blessed in 1913 with the Holy Blessing on the cornerstone. The cathedral is close to Regina's downtown area, which is walkable. With the exception of Monday, Mass is performed every day. Masses are held at 9:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m., and 7:00 p.m. on Sundays. Masses are held at 8:00 a.m. Tuesday through Friday, and 9:00 a.m. on Saturday. There is a lot to see and do in the neighbourhood around the cathedral, including some fantastic, one-of-a-kind local businesses.
Activities
The Cathedral is a magnificent structure with two towering, beautiful spires. The Cathedral's primary highlights are huge ceramic paintings on the sanctuary's southern wall. Lorraine Malach designed and created this piece, which portrays the five beautiful mysteries of the rosary. The McGuigan Organ was constructed by Casavant Frères of Québec in honour of Sr Marion McGuigan. Casavant Frères is a renowned organ-building company in Canada. It has about 3100 pipes and is considered one of Canada's best cathedral organs. This is shown at the cathedral's north end gallery. The Archbishop's cathedra, which dates from Archbishop Mathieu's time, has magnificent stained glass windows by artist André Rault of Rennes, France, depicting Mary's Sorrows and Joys, respectively, on the east and west sides of the Cathedral. There are also three enormous circular windows, known as rose windows, one on each side and one in the front. The names of Mary's forefathers and mothers are inscribed on the windows, which is significant. The parish Altar Guild donated the big bell in the east tower in 1915, which is an additional attraction.
