Holy Family Cathedral (Saskatoon) Explained

Cathedral of the Holy Family
Location:123 Nelson Road
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
S7S 1H1
Geo:52.1501°N -106.5854°W
Religious Affiliation:Roman Catholic
Province:Saskatchewan
Consecration Year:2011
Website:http://www.holyfamilycathedral.ca/
Architect:Friggstad Downing Henry Architects
Architecture Type:Church
Groundbreaking:2010
Year Completed:2011
Construction Cost:CA$28.5 million
Capacity:1,250

The Cathedral of the Holy Family is a Roman Catholic cathedral in the University Heights Suburban Centre neighbourhood of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. The Cathedral is located on land adjacent to St. Joseph High School.

St. Paul's Cathedral had reached its physical limits, which necessitated the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saskatoon to build the Cathedral of the Holy Family.[1] Construction on the CAD$28.5 million 65000square feet cathedral started in 2010.[2] and it opened on December 18, 2011.[3]

The main worship space seats 1,200 with provision to use an overflow area bringing the total to 2,000. The building serves as a parish church, diocesan cathedral, private residence, meeting space, office building, library, archive storage, banquet hall and community centre. The building is designed in an anachronistic modernist style, which is not particularly contemporary, but seems to exemplify a late 1950s-60s attitude towards the future.[4]

Some of the cathedral stained glass windows are equipped with solar panels.[5] This makes the church the first in North America to make use of photovoltaic cells in a stained glass installation. The installation makes use of 1,000 solar cells embedded in 54 panels.[6]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Frequently asked Questions . Diocese of Saskatoon . 2011-02-18 . 2010-11-27 . https://web.archive.org/web/20101127115745/http://www.saskatoonrcdiocese.com/news_articles/documents/cathedral%20FAQ.pdf . dead .
  2. Cross put in place on new Holy Family Cathedral and Catholic Pastoral Centre . Diocese of Saskatoon . 2011-02-18 . 2010-12-20 . https://web.archive.org/web/20101220044415/http://saskatoonrcdiocese.com/news_articles/documents/Cathedral_cross.pdf . dead .
  3. News: Saskatoon makes the transition to new cathedral . Yaworski . Kiply Luwan . . . January 11, 2012 . 2022-07-17 .
  4. Web site: Further Thoughts on the Projected Saskatoon Cathedral . New Liturgical Movement . July 14, 2008 . July 17, 2022.
  5. Web site: Cathedral Features . https://web.archive.org/web/20110716005856/http://www.saskatoonrcdiocese.com/cathedral/solar_energy.cfm . dead . 2011-07-16 . Diocese of Saskatoon . PDF . 2011-02-18.
  6. News: Let there be light . Warren . Jeremy . . April 23, 2011 . 2022-07-17.