TWO GREAT CHURCHES.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXIX, Issue 4, 24 January 1901, Page 5

TWO GREAT CHURCHES.

The approaching erection of two noble cathedrals in New Zealand— the one at WellingtDn, the other at Christchurch— reminds us that two of the great capitals of the world are at present engaged in building monster churches, both of which are now well on the road towards completion. For each it is claimed that it will be ' the finest in the world ' London's new Catholic Cathedral is to be at Westminster. For some years now it has been in course of erection, and the scaffolding still surrounds portions of the mighty edifice. The Cathedral is gome 3.~)0 feet long and about Kit) feet wide ; in other words, as long as Chester Cathedral and rather wider than that at Canterbury. The style of architecture is Early Christian Byzantine, similar to that in which St. Sophia at Constantinople is built. Although the shell of the building will first be completed, it will be pome time before the finishing touches to the edifice are made. The interior of the Cathedral when complete will deserve the adjective • magnificent.' The walls of the nave will pictorially illustrate the history of the Catholic Church in Britain from the earliest times down to the end of the nineteenth century. The first site for the Cathedral was purchased in 1868 by the late Cardial Manning for £:S(;.5oO, but after a time the site was exchanged for that on which the present structure stands, although another £20,000 had to be raised in addition. Altogether, when the foundation-stone was laid in 18U5, over £7.1.000 had been promised in subscriptions, but that figure was by no means sufficient. It is estimated that the great Church of the National Vow at Paris— the Church of the Sacred Heart, to give the edifice its full title— by the time it is finished will have cost over a million pounds. It has been so long in building that it has been possible to raise this huge "üm gradually, though a large proportion of it was given when the idea of its erection was first mooted. When France was defeated by Germany there were many who averred that it was due to the sins of the nation, and it was sugested that a monster cathedral should be put up as a token to succeeding generations that the French nation repented of its sins. When the project was first mentioned it made a stir in the world. The Montmartre Basilica at Paris is a trifle larger than that at Westminster, and the indications are that it will be more beautiful. But Paris has a start of 20 years, and by that time London may outstrip its rival.