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Sacred Heart Catholic Cathedral
Aliwal North, Eastern Cape
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Click to view map Coordinates: | The origin of the Aliwal Catholic Mission dates back to the 25th September 1884 when it was opened by Rt. Rev. Bishop Ricards of Port Elizabeth. The front portion of the present church was built in 1886, and on the 7th November of the same year Bishop Ricards blessed the Church and dedicated it to St.Columba. The first resident priest was Rev.Father Patrick Neville. The foundation stone of the Holy Cross Convent, Aliwal North, was blessed on the 10th October 1906 by the Most Rev.Archbishop H.McSherry and was laid by His Excellency the late Sir W.F.Hely Hutchinson, Governor of the Cape – 'well and truly laid' as His Excellency declared. The Sisters of the Holy Cross erected there in 1906 the Provincial House of their Congregation in South Africa and Rt. Rev. Monsignor F.Demont made it the headquarters of our Missionary territory. The following year – 16th October 1907 – saw the official opening of the Convent as a Boarding and Day school for white children. The Sacred Heart Priests arrived in Aliwal towards the end of 1923. As the church proved too small for the then growing congregation, extensions were begun, Rt. Rev. Bishop H. McSherry of Port Elizabeth turning the first sod for same in January 1924. His Excellency the late Archbishop B. J. Gijlswijk, O.P. Apostolic Delegate came to Aliwal to lay the foundation stone of the new wing on the 15th August 1924 and he consecrated the new Church of the Sacred Heart on the 25th March 1926. In 1934 the first candidates from the Sacred Heart Seminary, Aliwal North, were raised to the Priesthood. In 1936 the Mission territory was raised to the rank of a Vicariate, the church became a Pro-Cathedral. (From typed 3-page paper, found in the archives of the diocese, with the heading 'History of the Catholic Church in Aliwal North' and relating events up to 1947.) Although plans for the final shape of the Cathedral had been considered at an early stage, the growth of the diocese made it urgent to put these plans into practice. In 1958 the original, narrow main nave of the Cathedral was taken down and in its place a wide main nave was erected and two towers were added, clearly indicating that it was the Cathedral, the main church of the diocese. During 1994 the sanctuary of the cathedral was adapted to the new liturgy. The three communion rails and the large, high steel pulpit were removed. The steel work of the communion rails was used to construct a secluded visitor’s corner accessible from the entrance at the left tower. Edited from Diocese of Aliwal Behind the Cathedral is the Holy Cross Catholic Convent and School. All truncated references not fully cited below are those of Joanna Walker's original text and cited in full in the 'Bibliography' entry of the Lexicon. Books that reference Sacred Heart Catholic Cathedral
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