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Amid the hustle, bustle and burgeoning life of east Port-of-Spain stands the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. Its blue limestone blocks tower into the sky, representing both a geographical and historical landmark east of the nation’s capital.
Through flooding and earthquakes, the mother church of the Roman Catholic faith in this country has survived the test of time. This year marks 175 years since the Cathedral was dedicated and given its honorary status of a Minor Basilica—a designation given by Pope Pius IX that holds special ecclesiastical privileges, historical importance, and artistic value.
Construction began in 1816—the same year work on the Anglican Church’s Holy Trinity Cathedral on Queen Street also started—and it would take 35 years to complete the structure. It was meant to replace the first Catholic Church in Port-of-Spain, built in 1784 on the site now known as Tamarind Square.
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