Holy Rosary Cathedral (Regina)

 cathedral, Roman Catholic church

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Most Rev. Olivier Mathieu was installed as the first bishop of the Catholic community in Regina in 1911. On the first day of June 1912, one month before the Regina Cyclone, Bishop Mathieu turned the sod for the new cathedral. Fortunately this area was left relatively intact after the cyclone. Holy Rosary was built for $135,000 in the Romanesque style designed by J.E. Fortin of Montreal. At the time of construction, the 235-foot twin steeples were the highest points in the city. Originally they were topped with metal roosters that served as weather vanes.

The Casavant Frères pipe organ was installed in 1930. In 1949, parishioners donated thirty-three stained-glass windows. The windows were created and installed by Andre Rault of France. In 1976, a devastating fire left the church unusable. The congregation temporarily gathered at neighbouring Westminster United Church until repairs were completed. The organ, repaired from the 1976 fire and renovated again in 1993, was renamed the McGuigan Organ in honour of Sister Marion McGuigan, a much loved local humanitarian and educator.

Holy Rosary School had its humble beginning in the basement of the cathedral in 1913. The following year, a four-room school was built on the same block as the cathedral. Sister Mary St. Germaine became the first principal.