Saint Peter and Paul Cathedral, Catholic cathedral in Paramaribo, Suriname
The Catedral de San Pedro y San Pablo is a large wooden Catholic church in the Rainville neighborhood of Paramaribo, Suriname, featuring two tall towers built in a neoromanesque and neogothic style. The building is made entirely of cedar wood and is considered one of the largest wooden churches in the world.
The cathedral was built between 1883 and 1885, making it one of the oldest major religious buildings still standing in Paramaribo. In 2014, Pope Francis granted it the status of a basilica, a recognition that placed it among a small number of churches with this title in the Caribbean region.
The cathedral holds the tomb of Peter Donders, a missionary who spent most of his life caring for leprosy patients in Suriname. His presence draws pilgrims who come specifically to visit his resting place inside the building.
The cathedral is located in the Rainville neighborhood and is easy to reach on foot from the center of Paramaribo. Visiting in the morning tends to give better light inside the building and fewer other visitors around.
The entire structure was assembled without nails or metal fasteners, relying only on traditional woodworking joints to hold everything together. This method was common in earlier centuries but is rarely seen in a building of this size anywhere in the world.
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