About The Basilica-Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist in Saint John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador:
The Basilica is the home to an exceptional collection of 28 large and 35 smaller stained glass windows. This is largest single collection of stained glass windows in Newfoundland and Labrador. Donated entirely by parishoners, the Basilica’s large windows were the work of only three stained glass artists, the celebrated William Warrington of London, and Charles Lévêque and Louis Lichtenheldt-Koch of Beauvais, France, and were installed between 1857 and 1905. Because the Great Fire of St. John’s in 1892 did not burn the Basilica, the church and most of its large windows are one of the few remaining intact pre-1892 collections of nineteenth-century stained glass in St. John’s.
The smaller windows in the ambulatory and the Marian Chapel are all the work of one artist, Gerald Earley of Dublin. They were installed in 1954-55. They are in the arts and crafts style and constitute the largest collection of mid-twentieth century Arts and Crafts style Irish stained glass windows in the western hemisphere.a
In subjects and themes, the large windows depict various biblical characters, saints, apostles, and members of the Holy Family. They are the iconography of a group of saints commonly found in the devotions of the Irish Roman Catholics who built this cathedral. The 1954-55 windows represent the Joyful, Sorrowful, and Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary, along with a number of saints canonized in the early twentieth century. They constitute a Marian-centered hagiography favored by Archbishop P. J. Skinner.
Note: The Basilica has very strict rules regarding photography,,,be sure to read them on their website.
Traveling to The Basilica-Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist in Saint John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador:
Address: 200 Military Rd, St. John’s, NL A1C 5G9, Canada
Phone: +1 709-754-2170