Nouméa Cathedral, Catholic cathedral in Nouméa, New Caledonia.
Nouméa Cathedral is a Catholic church built in the shape of a Latin cross with a substantial interior space divided into sections for the congregation. The structure rises on raised artificial terraces that set it apart from the surrounding streets below.
Built between 1887 and 1897 with convict labour to plans by a former prisoner named Labulle, the church was blessed on 26 October 1890 by Père Xavier Montrouzier and consecrated in 1893 by Monseigneur Julien Vidal, Vicar Apostolic of Fiji, before the façade and towers were finished. It became the seat of the Archdiocese of Nouméa in 1966 and was classed as a monument historique on 20 August 1992.
The 28 stained glass windows depict saints and biblical figures, including Saint Cecilia, Moses and Saint Peter Chanel, arranged by bay from nave to apse. The high altar was carved in 1860 for the Mission de Saint-Louis, the vicariate's first mother-church, and the giant clam shells serve as holy water stoups.
The cathedral stands on artificial terraces above the town centre, reached by staircases from the surrounding streets; the south parvis holds the Joan of Arc statue. It is an active place of worship, so visitors should keep quiet and dress respectfully. Restoration work begun in 2007 has covered the exterior and, in stages, the interior, with the third interior phase finished in 2020.
The Joan of Arc statue on the south terrace was erected in 1901, a gift from the Bishop of Orléans, the city of her siege. She is shown in armour carrying a standard. The cathedral's 28 stained glass windows include one of Saint Pierre Chanel, a Marist missionary killed in Oceania in 1841.
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