| Holy Cross Cathedral | |
| Location: | Honiara |
| Country: |  Solomon Islands |
| Denomination: | Catholic Church |
| Tradition: | Roman rite |
| Dedication: | Holy Cross |
| Consecrated Date: | 17 September 1978[1] |
| Groundbreaking: | 1976 |
| Completed Date: | 1979 |
| Archdiocese: | Honiara |
The Holy Cross Cathedral,[2] [3] also referred to as the Catholic Cathedral of Honiara, is the cathedral church and seat of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Honiara (Latin: Archidioecesis Honiaranus). It is located in the city of Honiara, which is on Guadalcanal Island and is the capital of the Solomon Islands, a country in the southwest Pacific Ocean.[4] Pope John Paul II elevated Honiara to its status of Metropolitan Archdiocese by papal bull, "Latin: Laetentur insulae multae", in 1978.[5] Archbishop Christopher Cardone assumed the pastoral responsibility for the archdiocese in 2016.[6] [7] The church follows the tradition of the Roman or Latin rite.
Honiara's first Catholic cathedral was erected at the foot of the town's Vavaya Ridge (or Vatuliva Hill; now commonly, Cathedral Hill), pending construction of the permanent cathedral. This Holy Cross was adapted from a large Quonset hut; it was blessed and opened to the public in 1957. A brick of the first Catholic mission in the Solomon Islands, built in 1845, was incorporated into its façade. The site chosen for the cathedral was believed to be that of the first Christian cross erected in the Solomons, planted by the expedition of Alvaro de Mendaña in 1568.[8] On the same spot, the first Mass in the Solomons was celebrated by a friar from among Mendaña's crew. This expedition of the Spanish Empire was Europeans' first encounter with the Solomon Islands.[9] Its foundation stone laid in 1976, the permanent Holy Cross Cathedral, built on the same hill where the pro-cathedral stood, was consecrated and opened in 1978.[10] Its style has been described as "Pacific architecture".[11]