Cathedral of St. Mary the Crowned

Church in Main Street, Gibraltar

Cathedral of St. Mary the Crowned

Western façade of the Cathedral of St. Mary the Crowned.

36°08′23″N 5°21′13″W﻿ / ﻿36.139672°N 5.35366°W﻿ / 36.139672; -5.35366
Location| 215 Main Street
Country|  Gibraltar
Denomination| Catholic (Latin)
Website| Gib Cathedral
History
Former name(s)| Iglesia de Santa Maria la Coronada y San Bernado
Status| Cathedral
Founded| 20 August 1462
Founder(s)| Catholic Monarchs
Dedication| St. Mary the Crowned
Dedicated| 20 August 1462
Consecrated| 20 August 1462
Past bishop(s)| See list of bishops
Associated people| Fr. Juan Romero de Figueroa
Architecture
Functional status| Active
Architect(s)| Various
Architectural type| Mixed
Style| Mixed
Completed| 1931
Specifications
Number of domes| 1
Clergy
Bishop(s)| Mons. Carmelo Zammit
Priest(s)| Fr. Paul Bear

The Cathedral of Saint Mary the Crowned (Spanish: Catedral de Santa María la Coronada) is a Latin Catholic cathedral in Gibraltar. It is the primary centre of Catholic worship in the Diocese of Gibraltar.

## History

[edit]

### 15th century

[edit]

The original building of the current cathedral was built during the Spanish period. Just after the reconquest of the city to the Moors, the main mosque was decreed to be stripped of its Islamic past[1] and consecrated as the parish church (named Santa Maria la Coronada y San Bernardo[2]). However, under the rule of the Catholic Monarchs, the old building was demolished and a new church was erected, in Gothic style. The cathedral's small courtyard is the remnant of the larger Moorish court of the mosque. The Catholic Monarchs' coat of arms was placed in the courtyard where it can still be seen today. The cathedral extended to the opposite side of what is now Main Street.[1]

### 18th to 20th centuries

[edit]

The church of St. Mary the Crowned was the only Catholic church or institution that was not ransacked by the troops that took over the city in 1704. It was successfully protected by its staunch pastor, Juan Romero, his curate, and his bell-ringer.[3] Thus, it is the only place where Catholic worship has taken place uninterruptedly from the definite Christian re-conquest of the town.

Due to the building being severely damaged during the 1779–1783 Great Siege, in 1790 the then governor of Gibraltar, Sir Robert Boyd, offered to rebuild the cathedral in return for part of the land on which the building originally stood in order to re-route Main Street.[1] The route was re-modelled in 1801 so that Main Street could be straighter. (This drastic change has also been credited to the governor Charles O'Hara.[4]) The reconstruction took place in 1810 and the opportunity was also taken to widen Main Street. The clock tower was added in 1820 and in 1931 restoration work was carried out on the cathedral and the current west façade erected to replace the poorer one built in 1810.[1]

In 1881 the Church of St Mary's was the site of nearly fifty arrests as the governor of Gibraltar sent police and reassigned soldiers to support Bishop Canilla as he attempted to enter his own church. A self-appointed "Committee of Elders" had said that they intended to take possession of the church and install their own "chief priest" against the will of the governor and the Catholic church. Canilla was sent to his church on 2 March 1881 with police protection to install him in his church. When the new force came to the church they found it was occupied by 200 men and the police had to make four dozen arrests to establish order.[5]

Not only did Canilla now have possession of his church but he was also the owner as the governor arranged for the title deeds to be given to the new titular Bishop.[5]

Until the 19th century, anyone who died in Gibraltar had the right to be buried under the cathedral floor. Bishops are buried in a crypt beneath the statue of Our Lady of Europe.[1]

In 1943, Władysław Sikorski's coffin lay in state here, after his plane crashed into the sea just off Gibraltar.

## See also

[edit]

* San Roque, Cádiz (The original statue of St Mary was moved there in 1704, following the British takeover of Gibraltar)

## Gallery

[edit]

* The exterior of the Cathedral of St. Mary the Crowned. The statue of the soldier outside the cathedral is a gift from the Corps of the Royal Engineers to commemorate the formation in Gibraltar of the Company of Soldier Artificers in 1772, which later became the Royal Engineers in 1856.[6]

* Old photograph of Main Street showing part of the cathedral's façade to the left. Picture from the book Gibraltar - John L. Stoddard's Lectures (1912), by John L. Stoddard. It shows the old façade built in 1810.

* Entrance to the cathedral's courtyard.

* View of the cathedral's altar.

* Stained-glass window in the cathedral.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e "History of the Cathedral of St Mary the Crowned". Archived 2013-01-07 at archive.today.
2. ^ "A Short History of the Diocese of Gibraltar". Diocese of Gibraltar. Archived from the original on 3 January 2009.
3. ^ Jackson, William (1990). The Rock of the Gibraltarians: A History of Gibraltar (2nd ed.). Grendon, Northamptonshire, UK: Gibraltar Books. pp. 99–101\. ISBN 978-0-9484-6614-4.99-101&rft.edition=2nd&rft.pub=Gibraltar+Books&rft.date=1990&rft.isbn=978-0-9484-6614-4&rft.aulast=Jackson&rft.aufirst=William&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Cathedral+of+St.+Mary+the+Crowned" class="Z3988">
4. ^ Benady, Tito (1996). The streets of Gibraltar: a short history. Grendon: Gibraltar Books. pp. 11–17\. ISBN 978-0-9484-6637-3.11-17&rft.pub=Gibraltar+Books&rft.date=1996&rft.isbn=978-0-9484-6637-3&rft.aulast=Benady&rft.aufirst=Tito&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Cathedral+of+St.+Mary+the+Crowned" class="Z3988">
5. ^ a b Hills, George (1974). Rock of Contention: A History of Gibraltar. London: Robert Hale. pp. 392–396\. ISBN 978-0-7091-4352-9.392-396&rft.pub=Robert+Hale&rft.date=1974&rft.isbn=978-0-7091-4352-9&rft.aulast=Hills&rft.aufirst=George&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Cathedral+of+St.+Mary+the+Crowned" class="Z3988">
6. ^ Bond, Peter (1 January 2003). 300 Years of British Gibraltar 1704-2004. Peter-Tan.

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cathedral of St. Mary the Crowned, Gibraltar.

* Cathedral information and photos of interior (from the Diocese of Gibraltar)
* Illustrated article

* v
* t
* e

Buildings and structures in Gibraltar

Grade A listed|

* Moorish Castle
* Napier of Magdala Battery
* Nun's Well
* Parson's Lodge Battery
* Shrine of Our Lady of Europe
* Trafalgar Cemetery

Grade B listed|

* Cathedral of St. Mary the Crowned
* The Convent
* Garrison Library
* Great Synagogue
* Moorish Baths
* Parliament
* St. Jago's Arch

Demolished|

* Devil's Tower
* Rosia Water Tanks
* O'Hara's Tower
* Theatre Royal

Government|

* 6 Convent Place
* City Hall
* Gibraltar House
* Gibraltar Savings Bank
* Parliament
* John Mackintosh Hall
* Main Guard
* Royal Gibraltar Post Office
* The Mount
* Victualling Yard
* Gibraltar Archives

Hospitals|

* King George V Hospital
* St Bernard's Hospital
* Royal Naval Hospital

Hotels|

* Bristol Hotel
* Caleta Palace Hotel
* The Cannon Hotel
* O'Callaghan Eliott Hotel
* Queen's Hotel
* The Rock Hotel

Lighthouses|

* Europa Point Lighthouse
* Gibraltar Aerobeacon
* Detached Mole ("B" Head) Lighthouse
* Detached Mole ("C" Head) Lighthouse
* North Mole Elbow Lighthouse
* North Mole Lighthouse
* South Mole Lighthouse

Moles|

* Detached Mole
* North Mole
* South Mole

Monuments and memorials|

* American War Memorial
* Cradle of History Monument
* Gibraltar War Memorial
* Pillars of Hercules Monument
* Gibraltar Cross of Sacrifice

Museums|

* Gibraltar Museum

Religious|

* Cathedral of St. Mary the Crowned
* Cathedral of the Holy Trinity
* Great Synagogue
* Other synagogues
* Ibrahim-al-Ibrahim Mosque
* Methodist Church
* Shrine of Our Lady of Europe
* St. Andrew's Church
* Trafalgar Cemetery
* Jews' Gate Cemetery
* King's Chapel
* Loreto Convent
* North Front Cemetery
* Our Lady of Sorrows Church
* Sacred Heart Church
* St. Bernard's Church
* St. Joseph's Church
* St. Paul's Church
* St. Theresa's Church

Education|

* Gibraltar College
* Gibraltar Public School
* Bayside Comprehensive School
* Westside School
* Christian Brothers School
* Talmud Torah Hebrew School
* University of Gibraltar

Transport|

* Cable Car
* Gibraltar Cruise Terminal
* Gibraltar International Airport

* Royal Gibraltar Yacht Club

Batteries, Bastions and Walls|

* Breakneck Battery
* Charles V Wall
* Devil's Gap Battery
* King's Bastion
* Flat Bastion
* Flat Bastion Magazine
* Levant Battery
* Line Wall Curtain
* Lord Airey's Battery
* Middle Hill Battery
* Moorish Wall
* North Bastion, Gibraltar
* O'Hara's Battery
* Princess Amelia's Battery
* Princess Anne's Battery
* Princess Caroline's Battery
* Princess Royal's Battery
* Rock Gun Battery
* South Bastion, Gibraltar
* Southport Gates
* Spur Battery

* v
* t
* e

Gibraltar topics

History

* Neanderthals in Gibraltar
* Timeline (sieges)
* Pillars of Hercules
* First Siege of Gibraltar
* Battle of Gibraltar
* Capture of Gibraltar
* George Rooke
* Treaty of Utrecht
* Thirteenth Siege of Gibraltar
* Great Siege
* George Augustus Eliott
* Gibraltar real (currency)
* World War II
* Nationality
* Genoese in Gibraltar
* Maltese in Gibraltar
* Explosion of the RFA Bedenham
* Operation Flavius (Death on the Rock)
* Aurora incident
* New Flame incident
* Fedra incident
* COVID-19

Geography

| General|

* Climate
* Geology
* Azores–Gibraltar transform fault
* Gibraltar Arc
* Iberian Peninsula

|

Environment|

* Birds
* Mammals
* Barbary macaques
* Reptiles and amphibians
* Candytuft (Iberis gibraltarica)
* Botanic Gardens
* Ornithological & Natural History Society (GONHS)
* Wildlife Park

Places|

| Natural|

* Bay of Gibraltar
* Catalan Bay
* Eastern Beach
* Gorham's Cave
* Rock of Gibraltar
* St. Michael's Cave
* Sandy Bay
* Strait of Gibraltar
* Vanguard Cave
* Windmill Hill

|

Built|

* Bristol Hotel
* City Hall
* The Convent
* Garrison Library
* King George V Hospital
* Moorish Castle
* The Rock Hotel
* St. Bernard's Hospital

Politics and Government

| General|

* Constitution Order
* 1969
* 2006
* Law
* court system
* LGBT rights
* Passport
* Political development in modern Gibraltar

|

People|

* Chief Minister
* Governor
* Mayor

Political issues|

* Black Swan Project controversy
* Disputed status
* isthmus
* Elections
* 2007
* 2011
* 2015
* 2019
* 2023
* Parliament
* Speaker
* Political parties
* Sovereignty referendums
* 1967
* 2002
* EU referendum
* European Union (Referendum) Act 2016 (Gibraltar)

Military|

* British Forces Gibraltar
* Gibraltar Defence Police
* Gibraltar Squadron
* Napier of Magdala Battery
* RAF Gibraltar
* Royal Gibraltar Police
* Royal Gibraltar Regiment

Economy

| General|

* Banks
* Gibraltar pound
* coins
* Stock Exchange
* Taxation
* Tourism

|

Communications|

* .gi (Internet domain)
* Gibraltar Broadcasting Corporation
* Gibraltar Chronicle
* Gibtelecom
* Panorama
* Regulatory Authority
* Royal Gibraltar Post Office
* postage stamps and history
* postal orders
* Study Circle
* Telephone numbers

Transport|

* Airport
* Cable car
* Gibraltar–Spain border
* Shipping in Gibraltar
* Vehicle registration plates

Culture

| General|

* Cuisine
* Education
* Bayside Comprehensive School
* Westside School
* University of Gibraltar
* Miss Gibraltar
* Music
* Llévame Donde Nací
* Gibraltar Fair
* National Day
* Public holidays
* Scouting and Guiding in Gibraltar

|

Demographics|

* Gibraltarians
* list
* in the UK
* Gibraltarian status
* Languages
* English
* Llanito

Religion|

| Christianity|

* Anglicanism
* Diocese in Europe
* Bishop diocesan
* Bishop suffragan
* Cathedral of the Holy Trinity
* St. Andrew's Church (Church of Scotland)
* Methodism
* Roman Catholicism
* Diocese
* Bishop
* Cathedral of St. Mary the Crowned
* Our Lady of Europe
* Shrine of Our Lady of Europe
* Trafalgar Cemetery

|

Other faiths|

* Hinduism
* Islam
* Ibrahim-al-Ibrahim Mosque
* Judaism
* Great Synagogue
* other synagogues

Sport|

| By sport|

* Basketball
* Cricket
* national team
* Cycling
* Field hockey
* national team
* Football
* Football Association
* national team
* Rugby union
* national team
* Campo Gibraltar RUFC

|

* Commonwealth Games
* Island Games
* Records in athletics
* Victoria Stadium

Symbols|

* Anthem
* Coat of arms
* Official flag
* other flags

* Category
* Commons
* Portal
* WikiProject

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF

National|

* United States

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template