Will Saint John's Catholic Cathedral be Saved?

Few institutions in Saint John have much hope of surviving the wrecker's ball, but the one structure which seemed impregnable is the enclave of Patrician families whose lineage stretches back to the industrial and mercantile growth era of the 19th Century. The ghastly murder which shattered the Oland family will produce repercussions indefinitely, but I worry that in the near term it may have contributed to the demise of Saint John's Catholic cathedral.

There were several factors which contributed to Saint John's decline in the closing decades of the 20th Century. The program of creative destruction known as "Urban Renewal" was but a precursor, and truth be told, social change made it very unlikely that old city would hold together. Birth control, the decline of Christianity and the political mantra of the Canada Health Act first, last and forever, pretty well guarantees that the present will always remain irrevocably disconnected from the past. Still, there is something to be said for a stubborn determination to remember where we came from.

I have been thinking of late about the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, a landmark heritage building which continues to serve its original purpose, but which is broke. In Saint John an institution which does not have its beak in the public $$ trough, has virtually no chance of survival... unless it attracts a champion with a loud voice and a shillelagh in his mitts. Richard "Dick" Oland might have become that man. On July 5th Mr. Oland held talks with Catholic Bishop Robert Harris, the subject of which was his crafting of a fund raising campaign to finance the urgently needed repairs. The roof of the cathedral is shot, and when it rains buckets and plastic sheets are deployed under five leaks. The building, erected in the 1850s, does not meet current code and ballpark estimates of the money needed for repair and upgrading span from ten to twenty million dollars. Oland was the most experienced fund raiser to step forward so far, and now that he has been murdered the Bishop may not find another civiv leader to speak up for one of Saint John's most important houses of worship.

A rare view of uptown Saint John in which the only spire visible is that of the Catholic Cathedral. Taken circa 1930, this FOLKARD shot directs the eye north toward the Valley. The Cathedral spire dominates the skyline but its silhouette is merged with the broad shoulders of newly constructed Saint John General Hospital.

FOLKARD Letter Cards were printed by the U.S. company's Montreal subsidiary. This example notes that "Saint John has 35 schools, 63 churches. 16 banks, 2 radio stations, and numerous industrial plants, as well as the largest Dry Dock in the British Empire." Not... any... more.

Concerned about what the death of Dick Oland might mean to the health of one of Canada's few great cathedrals, I gave thought over the weekend to what I might write here. It was startling to read in this morning's edition of the Saint John newspaper, the TELEGRAPH JOURNAL, no update at all (or editorial) on the Oland murder investigation, but instead an opinion column written by Maureen Dowd, of the NEW YORK TIMES - "The End of Awe". The T.J. doesn't carry the Times column, so why did they choose to buy and publish this Dowd column in particular? Dowd quotes a fiery speech given by Ireland's political leader, in which he thoroughly denounced the Catholic Church. His opportunity to launch an assault was the release of an official report on the pedophilia scandal in Ireland, and Enda Kenny did not pull his punches. The report, he says, "excavates the dysfunction, disconnection, elitism, the narcissism that dominate the culture of the Vatican to this day. The rape and torture of children were downplayed or 'managed' to uphold, instead, the primacy of the institution, its power, standing and 'reputation'. " Well fine, we all loath pedophiles, especially teacher and priest sex predators, but Saint John has a long history of sectarianism, and this 21st Century assault on the Catholic church is an echo of age old sentiments. Does the populace of Southern New Brunswick really care about Irish politics, or what Ms. Dowd of New York thinks about the Vatican? No.

[AUG. 9 - I correct myself: A couple of well travelled copies of the TELEGRAPH JOURNAL reached me yesterday, and I see that Ms. Dowd's NYT column IS in fact run in the T.J. every Tuesday. I'm extracting a few East Coast terms to share with students. It's fun to spot terms like "cop cars" in a newspaper article. Incredibly, the SJPD has yet to make an arrest in the infamous Oland axe murder case. The national papers lost interest two weeks ago.]

The roof of Saint John's Catholic Cathedral leaks in five places, damaging the ceilings and walls as well as creating a slipping hazard for the mostly senior parishioners. When it rains many oak pews are shrouded in plastic sheet and the sound of water dripping into plastic buckets creates a forlorn atmosphere. (Paul Cusack photograph)

What concerns me is that the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception needs many friends or it may vanish. The City of Saint John would be acting within the law to demand it be repaired or closed, and that may well happen. As the TELEGRAPH JOURNAL is the primary means of selling ideas in the old city, a staff which harbours antagonisms to the Catholic Church may guarantee that any Cathedral fund raising effort may get lukewarm press, if indeed "God's house" gets any supportive press at all.

The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Saint John. The historic structure was consecrated in 1855 A.D. and is still operating, although in dire need of repair. This photo emphasizes the detail of the stone masonry. The recently restored west wall was a restoration project which cost $1.2 million. It exhausted all available funds. (Paul Cusack photograph)

My special thanks to Paul Cusack of North End Saint John, a very supportive reader of the LOST VALLEY BLOG. Paul provided a wonderful selection of photos of the cathedral, from which I was invited to pick.