St Patrick's Cathedral gets a makeover

PUNE: The 160-year-old St Patrick's Cathedral one of the most enduring landmarks of Pune which underwent massive restoration and renovation throughout this past year, will finally be blessed on October 23 in the presence of Bishop of Pune, Rt Rev Thomas Dabre, Rt Rev Valerian D'Souza, bishop emeritus of Pune, and Rt Rev Lourdes Daniel, Bishop of Amravati.The cathedral has been spruced up with beautiful stained glass paintings, wood panelling, brand new acoustics and an impressive altar.
Over Rs 1.20 crore have been spent to restore and renovate the Gothic-style cathedral. It will now house an altar representing the Holy Trinity, comprising a mosaic image of Jesus Christ rising from the Eucharist and the tabernacle, all mounted on a fibreglass structure representing the wings of a dove. The exteriors have been restored and replastered without compromising on the Gothic touch.
"This is a historic and unique event in the history of the cathedral and the Poona Diocese. We renovated and restored the cathedral while maintaining its simplicity, decorum and dignity, without being extravagant. We are proud of our culture and religion, but are also open to other cultures and religions," said Bishop Dabre.
The cathedral is the principal church in the Pune diocese, which consists of the civil districts of Pune, Satara, Solapur, Sangli and Kolhapur, and has 13,000 parishioners, the highest number of members of any church in the city. "Keeping in the mind the architectural and heritage value of this cathedral, we took up the challenge to restore and renovate it instead of completely rebuilding it. A team of 16 experts from the fields of structural and civil engineering, art, and architecture, was formed to suggest necessary changes to the structure.
Several fund-raising programmes were held in the last one year to support this work," said Fr Malcolm Sequeira, parish priest and rector of the cathedral.
Eighteen stained glass paintings depicting the life of Jesus will don the interiors of the cathedral, including two which show images of the University of Pune and Shaniwarwada. "We have localised these two paintings keeping in mind the city's culture. Also, the five rose windows have been replaced with new stained glass paintings," Bishop Dabre said.
The roof, which was previously vaulted, now wears a domed look with provisions for effective acoustics, like sonaspray, a 12 mm-thick spray that prevents sound bouncing off the walls. "Around Rs 18 lakh were spent on acoustics. The sides of the altar will have wood panelling to further enhance the acoustics," Fr Sequeira said.
History of the cathedral
The initial plan for the cathedral came up in 1849 when Father James Carry, an Irish diocesan priest, encouraged several people to fund the new church building that cost Rs 18,000. The government gifted the land for the church and sanctioned a grant of Rs 2,000. The first Mass in the new church was held on December 8, 1850.
Over the years, the church, built in the Gothic style, came to be donned with its pinnacled buttresses, bell tower at the facade and other features of its signature Gothic style.
On July 15, 1984, the roof of the old structure collapsed. However, it did not damage a single statue or holy picture in the sanctuary area. The cathedral was rebuilt by renowned architect, Charles Correa, with a new vault roof and was rededicated on October 22, 1987. Eventually, the cathedral parish gave birth to five new parishes. Today, the cathedral has 40 churches under it that belong to the Poona diocese.