Cathedral Basilica of Christ the King

The Cathedral Basilica of Christ the King stands where King Street West meets Highway 403, at the western entrance to the city, on land obtained in 1849 as the Catholic burial ground for St. Mary’s Cathedral and used as a cemetery until 1874. Bishop John McNally resolved to build a new cathedral there as the Great Depression began. Its cornerstone, taken from the Roman catacomb of St. Pamphilius, was laid on 20 September 1931, and the cathedral was dedicated on 19 December 1933 with Prime Minister R. B. Bennett in attendance. The City’s heritage inventory describes a Gothic Revival church of Georgetown and Indiana limestone, with 82 stained-glass windows from Munich, Stations of the Cross carved in Carrara marble and a carillon of 23 bells, and names its architects as Hutton & Souter; the parish credits the design to William Palmer Witton.

The tower was repaired after damage found following the construction of Highway 403 nearby in 1962, and the interior was restored after a fire in March 1981. On 25 February 2013, in the cathedral’s 80th year, Pope Benedict XVI granted it the title of minor basilica. It is the cathedral of Bishop Joseph Dabrowski, the tenth Bishop of Hamilton, and its rector is the Very Reverend David Walter.

The Saturday vigil Mass is at 5:00 p.m., and Sunday Masses are at 9:00 and 11:00 a.m. On weekdays Mass is celebrated at 8:00 a.m. in the chapel on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, and at noon in the cathedral on Wednesday.

What Roman Catholics believe and how they worship