St. Michael's Basilica, Miramichi

The Basilica of St. Michael the Archangel, is located on a hill overlooking the Miramichi River in the Province of New Brunswick, Canada. It is the dominant feature of the former Town of Chatham, New Brunswick and one of the largest churches in Eastern Canada. It is now included within the City of Miramichi that was formed in 1995.

Design

St. Michael's Basilica is among the largest churches in Canada, east of Quebec City. The sandstone neo-Gothic structure was designed by the same architect, Patrick Keely, as Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago, Sts. Peter and Paul Cathedral in Providence, Rhode Island and the Church of the Gesu in Montreal. St. Michael's Basilica is 15 ft (4.6 m) taller than Holy Name in Chicago, somewhat narrower and about the same length, Holy Name seats about 300 more people (1,520 vs 1,200). Construction on the cathedral started in 1903 and finished in 1921. Italian marble with veined panels was used throughout the interior of the nave and the sacristy. The spire is visible for several miles especially when approaching Chatham from the north, across the Centennial Bridge that spans the Miramichi River.

Congregation

St.Michael's Basilica is a testament to the faith of the Irish Catholics many of whom immigrated to New Brunswick in the Great Famine and were assisted to settle into their new homes by the Acadian Roman Catholics of Chatham. As late as the 1980s, large numbers of worshipers attended daily masses during Lent. The Church was one of the ways that the new Catholic immigrants of all ethnic origins maintained their unique identity.

When the Irish Catholics came to Canada, unlike their counterparts in the United States, they were barred from public office and the professions. They were required in the early days to tithe to the Church of England. These barriers were lifted during the 19th century, but the sense remained of Irish Catholics as a minority who needed to band together to protect their interests and St. Michael's helped bring them all together. The parish served by St. Michael's had a long history of providing priests for the area and sending others to the foreign missions or to Western Canada. By 1975, however, vocations to the priesthood from Chatham and area had essentially dried up.

Features

With an austere beauty and pleasing lines, the Basilica was built as the cathedral of a once-extensive Diocese of Chatham, that covered the northern part of the Province. The Diocese relocated to the French-speaking town of Bathhurst, approximately 45 mi (72 km) north, in 1938 and Sacred Heart Cathedral became the seat of the new Diocese of Bathurst.

Notable features of the Cathedral are a Lady Chapel to the west of the main church, a tall single spire (once illuminated by the Canadian Air Force because of the proximity of a fighter base) a green copper roof and a matching Bishop's Palace to the southeast. Its great bells, whether tolling a funeral, sounding the Angelus or joyously ringing in Easter or Christmas have long been a feature of life in the town. A fine stand of linden trees, planted by Bishop James Rogers, stands to the east of the basilica, in front of the palace.

Designation

The church is unique in that it was the cathedral of the Diocese of Chatham, but lost that distinction when the see moved in 1938. The church was then designated a pro-cathedral until 1989, when Pope John Paul II elevated it to a minor basilica.^[1]

Pastors

List of parish priests since the construction of the Basilica:

See also

• Saint Michael: Roman Catholic traditions and views

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to St. Michael's Basilica, Miramichi.

External links

• In The Wake of Dark Passage History of the Irish in New Brunswick

Roman Catholic basilicas in Canada
Alberta	Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph
Manitoba	Cathedral Basilica of Saint-Boniface
New Brunswick	St. Michael's Basilica
Newfoundland	Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help
Nova Scotia	St. Mary's Cathedral Basilica
Ontario	Basilica of Our Lady Immaculate Cathedral Basilica of Christ the King St. Michael's Cathedral Basilica St. Peter's Cathedral Basilica St. Paul's Basilica Cathedral Basilica of Notre-Dame St. Patrick's Basilica
Prince Edward Island	Cathedral Basilica of St. Dunstan
Quebec	Cathedral-Basilica of Notre-Dame de Québec Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré Cathedral Basilica of St Cecilia Cathedral Basilica of Saint Michael Notre-Dame-du-Cap Basilica Sainte-Anne de Varennes Basilica Cathédrale Marie-Reine-du-Monde Notre-Dame Basilica Saint Joseph's Oratory St. Patrick's Basilica