St. Peter's Cathedral Basilica, London, Ont. Aug. 7th 6 p.m. Service

The more one begins to write and think about these 19th century churches, the more tempting it is to compare one to the other. It's a somewhat dangerous past-time - much like comparing the qualities of beloved children because each has her own unique features and what might be first perceived as weakness sometimes becomes the strong point. St. Peter's Basilica in London presents such a case.

Driving into the heart of downtown London, it was difficult not to long for the pastoral setting presented by Kinkora or the gothic giant of Our Lady towering over the city of Guelph. St. Peter's, by contrast, stands squarely in the urban mix of downtown London. We even had diffulculty locating her as surprisingly her towers were dwarfed by concrete condominiums and office buildings. The open fields of Kinkora have been replaced by busy downtown sidewalks, passing pedestrians, and angry car horns that make up city life.

At first I was disappointed by this. But then I realized that St. Peter's provides the centre calm and sturdy steadfastness so often necessary in city life. I myself seek out places of tranquility and calm in my own city and London is no different. Her cathedrals house 12 bells, each named after one of the 12 apostles and were added in 1926 in celebration of the city's 100th jubilee. They ring each quarter hour. This church is not silent and makes her presence known in this busy downtown. In fact, her magnificant bells chimed for a at least a full 15 minutes when we first pulled up to her doors - they peeled in celebration of a wedding taking place that afternoon but I couldn't help but notice how they began to chime the minute we left the car. It was almost comical because I had just finished saying "let's take some pictures while it is quiet before the evening mass" and it was at that moment her bells began to gloriously ring - quiet no more. I have never heard a sound like it in my life.

Later that evening we attended evening mass. It was a breezy evening and the church doors we wide open to catch every breath of breeze - we could also hear passing traffic and diesel buses but as we rose to sing the entrance hymn, the great organ (purchased in 1926 for $23,000 dollars and which has 59 stops and 3,869 pipes) bellowed in fellowship and drowned the city sounds and seemed to shake the very foundations of the building. A lone soprano sang in accompaniment and I actually smiled with delight. This church really paid tribute to Connolly's design acoustics and when the introductory hymn was finished I turned to my companion and said "that alone was worth the drive to London". It was the first Connolly church in which we heard the organ playing and I felt somewhat like a mission had been fulfilled as I had been longing to hear the organ play in one of his churches.

This basilica values it's history. They have a wonderful website that provides a wealth of information - far better than I could ever summarize on this blog and I think this is largely due to the efforts of Larry Lewis, the church Sacristan, and church historian. Larry kindly gave us a tour after mass ended and told us much about the history, materials, the stain glass windows, the chapels, the nave, the marble floors, the canvas paintings, the church organ, the wood carvings. He even kindly gave us the DVD "St. Peter's Cathedral Basilica - The Journey". Father Jim Mockler also gave us the booklet "Celebrating 125 Years of the St. Peter's Basilica". We promised to send Father a link to our blog and tried to do the same for Larry, who had been so kind and helpful to 2 strangers but he is a self-proclaimed "luddite" which I have more sympathy for than one can imagine - ironically being one of the authors of this church record. We must think of another way to thank him for his kindness for perhaps there is no greater gift than knowledge shared.

Oh, and I had to look up the definition of "basilica" much to my chagrin as a one-time English major. The Catholic encyclopedia defines a basilica, in the architectural sense, as a Christian church designed under the principles of public buildings of ancient Rome - namely, a central nave, with an aspe at one or both ends and 2 side aisles formed by side columns. In a canonical sense, "basilica" can also be assigned "to important churches that enjoy privleges of an honorific character".
I am far from a church scholar, but I believe St. Peter's Basilica of London qualifies as both.

I realize as I finish writing this entry that I have said little about St. Peter's history, materials, and construction - there are others with far greater knowledge than I who can this in much better detail than this one-time English major. I can only say with absolute certainty that she has fulfilled her holy mandate first articulated at her dedication on June 28th, 1885 to stand as "an eloquent and enduring monument" to our Lord and to welcome all who enter her doors.
Miss M.

Basilique Saint-Pierre

I promise this entry to be all over the literary map so please bear with me. I discovered so much on this adventure it is hard to keep it straight. I learned more about Joseph Connolly’s work and passion today and perhaps more about the whole picture. We as humans have finite time on earth and I have just recently learned how to fully enjoy that fact. My companion and I had decided to visit London Ontario next in our itinerary and to attend St. Peter’s Cathedral Basilica. We planned to view and photograph the Cathedral, document what we could and attend mass.

Our road trip was very good, enjoying each other's company in the car all the while listening to one the world’s premier guitarist Mark Knopfler. I have been a fan of Knopfler for over thirty years and he and I collectively get better with age. My companion and coauthor of this blog truly enjoys Knopfler as well and only mildly noted about my shiny gadgets (ipod,cell phone) invading her car and personal space! We entered London Ontario a full four hours early via hwy 7 from the N. listening to guitar work and seeing some gorgeous S. Ontario’s farmland. As we entered the downtown area I, having been to St. Peter’s before started looking for her towers and was disappointed by not being readily able to see the church at all. Circling around the maze of well displaced one way streets I made my way from the West and....

Driving South on Richmond St (old Ontario hwy 4) I could see the front of the church and mixed with the strains of Knopfler’s Baloney Again I heard my companion state “oh that is so different “ . As I navigated the turn onto Queen St. and found a parking spot first in curbside on the right my ears were filled with this lead…

The Lord Is My Shepherd
He Leadeth Me In Pastures Green
He Gave Us This Day
Our Daily Bread And Gasoline
Go Under The Willow
Park Her Up Beside The Stream

(As my head swiveled to the left to view the church Maureen exclaimed ‘OH it’s a wedding!”)

Shoulders For Pillows
Lay Down Your Head And Dream
Shoulders For Pillows
Lay Down Your Head And Dream


Upon shutting the car and music off we could hear the hammering of church bells from the huge twin towers that stand at the back of the church. There was a wedding and it was just ending as we arrived. As we exited the car we could see the wedding party and guests in fine clothes standing in the sun. We grabbed our cameras and walked around the church where we photographed this big church which is The Cathedral of the Roman Catholic Diocese of London and the wedding party. My eye for detail spotted a lone man away from everyone else sporting a very nice camera. Being of very little nerve I shyly introduced my companion and myself to none other than Jamie Jardine, a local artist (with upcoming exhibitions) who informed us that his favourite church view was in fact down the street at the site of another beautiful London Church. You can see the spires and steeple from a good distance away on that church Jamie told us. Jamie was waiting patiently on the East corner for the “shot” to come back. The sun had decided to hide momentarily behind the clouds. As we ended our circling of the church I was coaxed to get a shot of the young bride on her big day. I walked across the lawns towards the wedding party which was in stages of getting photographed and asked the boys in tuxedos (male wedding party) what the young bride’s name was… they all replied “Steph”. Summoning up what little nerve I had left I walked up to the bride and congratulated her, introduced myself and asked if I could get a photo of her on her very special day which she agreed. After photographing Steph, I was granted the opportunity to photograph my friend Maureen who was a beautiful sight indeed. We then decided to go on our picnic having almost three full hours before mass started.

We drove around aimlessly for the next ½ hour not speaking but bickering and arguing trying to find parking near the river and dodging all of the three dozen weddings. Every time I turned around Maureen would squeal “theres another one!! and then faint . She had taken over operations of my Ipod as soon as I put it in her self proclaimed Luddite hands and had turned it off but that only left an uncomfortable silence in the car when she was unconscious from her fainting.

Before and after our picnic in a very nicely maintained and beautifully treed Springbank Park which was also the backdrop to at least four wedding photo shoots we drove around London which is itself is a varied mix of old and new, disrepair and development. Downtown London is primarily big corporate buildings and old highway 4 store fronts that have been leased to death and spruced up to offer the flavor of the month. The front exterior wall of the Cathedral is blocked from view by a 1970’s clay brick school gymnasium that has fallen into disrepair. The church’s location would have been at the far west end of London when it was conceived. I love the following quote which was written fifteen years prior to the start of construction of St. Peter’s Basilica. It is from a fellow by the name of Henry Edward Dormer who was stationed in London Ontario describing London in an 1866 letter to his mother.

“I am afraid that there is not too much exaggeration in the abusive account that everybody gives to this place. It has absolutely no resources of its own, no shooting , no fishing , no skating, and a very indifferent society, no libraries, no clubs and no walks except a high road up to your knees in mud.”

Dormer died the same year at the tender age of 22.

This cathedral was named after the first Pope, St. Peter the gate keeper and it has a very warm and inviting feel to it. The outside grounds are well kept and are of simple design.We returned to the church intent on discovering, where we met Father Jim Mockler, Rector and he informed us that there was a man that we needed to talk to if we were interested in learning about this church and we could find him after mass. He also told us where the washrooms were to be found as we needed to change into nicer clothes. We entered the back of the church via the main doors and into the massive Narthex. It has been changed over the years to accommodate the needs of the church but this is definitely a Joseph Connolly building. The three doors in Guelph’s Our Lady have been replicated here however the outer doors were closed and the side entrances are intact on this church and their traffic empties itself through arches into the Narthex. There is a massive pool for a fount filled with holy water just inside the main doors and the word grandeur came to mind. This very narrow room in between the outside doors and the main body of the church was used for baptism. The philosophy behind this is. Baptisms should take place outside and not in the church and therefore you enter the church through Baptism.


This church is trimmed in Oak and it was the wood that caught my gaze immediately upon my walking up the three steps that separate the Narthex and the main body of the church. The nave or center hallway is wide and the space you enter rolls ahead waiting for you in anticipation of discovery. Oak Rib Vaulting encases the entire ceiling with a spectacular "web" over the Apse. The pillars are my favourite part of Gothic Churches these being of a very beautiful “Dusty Rose” and of course they are colossal in diameter and height. The roof, spires, stone chimneys and stone exterior walls that are up on the clerestory are held up by flying buttress framing and these pillars, an engineering marvel indeed. This same pillar and buttress design has been employed since the 13th century with great success for longevity. We moved up and sat ten or so rows from the front just in on the right Center aisle.

Looking around this big building in awe and wonder I noticed a few things. My friend is devout and has a thing for God and as I watched her in prayer I knew that she is one of God’s gifts. The sun was in the west and the fact that it was shining in the side wall at 6 pm was a little odd. I tried to get my bearings and thought that this church isn’t sitting correctly. This is true and the reason is that the old church, the church of St. Lawrence was sitting out back and it ran East/West and the Cathedral was built in such close proximity that the builders simply couldn’t place it differently. That explains the stain glass window on the right hand side (east) of the main entrance depicting Baptism. The sanctuary floor, altar and podium are made from marble and it is huge (we got to stand on it!) My friend was impressed immediately by her size and shape; however I suspect she is still looking for her favourite Connolly piece so she is cataloguing them as we travel this journey.

The front wall is completely different than Our Lady and yet very similar. It has 7 arches that are filled in with plaster instead of being archways like Guelph. The reason for this is simple, that the sacristy was not built in the original build as was done in Guelph but rather erected in front of the church. There is a small doorway from the front wall into the sacristy. The main difference is size, Our Lady is much bigger with a lot more stone work. Given the location of both churches can lend knowledge to this question. The materials for St. Peters were imported from all over the world New York, Kentucky and Michigan but as far away as Austria. The pieces that make up the round window over the main doors were made in Austria, shipped to London Ontario, reassembled and installed. The windows located at the transepts are magnificent and the sun that was playing tag behind the clouds outside broke loose and shone its light through a saint in that window. The sunbeam shone completely and solely on my companion. We later learned that this window depicts the Twelve Stations . There is a light gold coloured scroll intertwining throughout the image which is made even more spectacular by the sun. We have been fortunate to have had sun on each day that we have visited a Connolly church and a looming storm for Our Lady which only lent to her mystique and sheer size.

I couldn’t hide my excitement of seeing a woman in a bright Fuchsia sweater come in and put her notes on the wooden podium at the right corner of the sanctuary. I attended the Rite Of The Blessing Of The Oils in this church and she sang at that ceremony. The Organ played during mass and this woman sang today. After mass I dug into my courage bank account once again and went and introduced myself to the lovely songbird. She is Gloria Gassi (no R) and is reported to also teach at a local University. Gloria has such a powerful voice and should be heard. She is a regular soloist here at St. Peter’s. This musical experience was enriched by the organ that is 30 % bigger than it needs to be and the fact that a very large percentage of the attending congregation sang!


Much akin to Father Jim Mockler’s words we looked for the man that we had to meet after mass. This fellow is a marvel of both knowledge and grace. He is none other than Larry Lewis; a self reported Luddite and St. Peter’s Basilica very own authoritarian. If you want to know about this building you just go see Mr. Lewis and he will tell you. His expansive vernacular was only out done by his linguistic gymnastics and depth of knowledge. We only received the very condensed version of his “tour” and again we learned more in the half hour we spent in his company than we could a week of reading. He fed (crammed) us information, all factual about windows , the placement of parts of the church , the mason strike where the apse was in danger of incompletion only to be rescued by pulling a mason from retirement, the recycling of materials to complete twin towers nearly 75 years after the church received its own start. This description is merely a sliver of what was transferred into our hands. He showed us the Lady Chapel and explained its purpose in a fantastic way. Larry was very happy and quite interested in our journey and has done a similar mecca of sorts of his own. He has visited other Connolly churches including Kinkora which he adored. The best of luck, health and happiness to Larry Lewis! Thank you Larry. I am aware that if Larry ever reads this I will be told of run on sentences and other grammatical debauchery.

This enlightening experience wasn’t entirely our doing but rather a flow of charity in our direction. We were helped, welcomed and appreciated wherever we went today and that is the best way to spend any day. Don’t you agree?

Shoulders For Pillows
Lay Down Your Head And Dream

God Bless
Lorne