Art and Architecture
St. Henry's Cathedral is one of the oldest neo-Gothic churches in Finland. It was designed by German-born Architect Ernst Bernhard Lohrmann (Westphalia 1803 - 1870 Stockholm) who followed Carl Ludvig Engel as Chief Architect in Helsinki.
The red-brick exterior of the Cathedral is characterized by the tall bell-tower over the entrance. The bell bears the dedicatory inscription D.O.M. Beatissimae Virgini Mariae et S. Henrico MDCCCLVIII (To Almighty God, the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Henry 1858). Three statues decorate the façade. In the centre, high above the entrance door, the statue of St. Henry, Patron Saint of the Catholic Diocese of Helsinki and of all Finland, to whom the church is dedicated. On the left the statue of St. Paul and on the right, St. Peter. On the outside wall of the Sacrament Chapel on the Tehtaankatu side there is a ceramic Crucifix made in Holland in 1950. In the grounds beyond the Sacrament Chapel towards the back of the Cathedral is a statue of the Madonna of Lourdes by the French sculptor Eugène Lapayre (Boulages 1846 - 1926) and collaborators at his workshop in Paris. The statue was restored in 2012-2013 by the Nicaraguan artist Sergio Rodas and placed in its new protective case in a solemn ceremony held in April 2013. |
The interior of the church was last renovated in 1981 under the direction of architect Olof Hansson. The exterior of the building has remained nearly unchanged, apart from the lengthening of the Sanctuary in 1962.
Nave
The Cathedral nave is illuminated by twelve beautiful stained-glass windows made in 1962-1965 by a Dutch artist from Maastricht, René (or Renier) Groenen (Luijksgestel, Netherlands 1924 -). The windows were installed in October 1965; two were donated by Elisabeth von Julin.
Starting from the entrance -
Starting from the entrance -
To the left:
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To the right:
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The Way of the Cross
Beside the windows, starting by the Sacrament Chapel, are the fourteen Stations of the Way of the Cross, recounting the history of the Passion of Christ from His condemnation at the court of Pontius Pilate to His entombment.The metal bas-reliefs were cast in France in the 19th century. The twelve Consecration Crosses with candles were placed on the walls in remembrance of the consecration of the church in 1904. The Organ The organ, built in Stockholm in 1967 by the firm of Richard Jacoby, is located in the organ loft above the entrance to the church. It has two manuals and pedals, 17 feet with a sweller and three pistons, and in all 1003 pipes. The instrument represents the so-called compromise-organ style which was typical for the organ-building tradition of the 1950s and 1960s. |
Under the organ loft there are two confessionals. Beside them, on the left wall of the nave, a memorial plaque commemorates the visit of Pope John Paul II to Finland in 1989. On the right wall is the plaque honouring the memory of Countess Leopoldina Cicogna (1790-1874) thanks to whose support the Church was built. The plaque was made in 1953 by the Florentine artist Natale Lecci and donated by Professor Roberto Wis. Two small marble Holy Water fonts are on the pillars supporting the organ loft on either side of the central aisle. |
Sanctuary
The High Altar in the Sanctuary contains relics of St. Cyprian, St. Olaf and St. Bridget, placed there in 1980-1981 during the last renovation of the church. On January 19th, 2000 a relic of St. Henry, our Patron Saint, was solemnly placed in the reliquary inserted in the altar front.
Behind the altar is the cathedra of the Bishop adorned with the coat-of-arms of the first Bishop of the Apostolic Vicariate of Finland, Michael Buckx. To the left is an oaken reading stand (lectern or ambo). A magnificent Triumphal Cross from the late Middle Ages is suspended from the Chancel arch above the altar.
The oldest stained-glass windows of the church are located in the Sanctuary: in the centre, the crucified Christ on Golgotha with the Virgin Mary and St. John, on the left, St. Henry and on the right, St. Bridget. These stained-glass windows, donated by Mary Ryan in 1907 in honour of the parish priest Father von Christierson, were made in England in 1907-1908 by Jones and Willis of Birmingham. The window with St. Bridget was partly destroyed by a bomb in August 1944 and remade in Helsinki by S. Vuorio.
The two statues on either side of the Sanctuary were sculpted in 1936 by Johann Friedl (Hohenstadt, Moravia 1863 - 1937 Helsinki): to the left the Madonna and Child, and to the right St. Joseph with the Child Jesus and a lamb. Friedl also carved the Bishop's Cathedra and the choir stalls.
Behind the altar is the cathedra of the Bishop adorned with the coat-of-arms of the first Bishop of the Apostolic Vicariate of Finland, Michael Buckx. To the left is an oaken reading stand (lectern or ambo). A magnificent Triumphal Cross from the late Middle Ages is suspended from the Chancel arch above the altar.
The oldest stained-glass windows of the church are located in the Sanctuary: in the centre, the crucified Christ on Golgotha with the Virgin Mary and St. John, on the left, St. Henry and on the right, St. Bridget. These stained-glass windows, donated by Mary Ryan in 1907 in honour of the parish priest Father von Christierson, were made in England in 1907-1908 by Jones and Willis of Birmingham. The window with St. Bridget was partly destroyed by a bomb in August 1944 and remade in Helsinki by S. Vuorio.
The two statues on either side of the Sanctuary were sculpted in 1936 by Johann Friedl (Hohenstadt, Moravia 1863 - 1937 Helsinki): to the left the Madonna and Child, and to the right St. Joseph with the Child Jesus and a lamb. Friedl also carved the Bishop's Cathedra and the choir stalls.
Sacrament ChapelOn the right side of the nave is the entrance to the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament. The heart of the Sacrament Chapel is the Tabernacle (or altar cabinet) where the Most Holy Sacrament, the Blessed Eucharist is reserved. The Tabernacle was brought from the U.S.A. by the Sisters of the Most Precious Blood of O'Fallon, CPPS, and placed on the Altar in the late 1980s, substituting the small Tabernacle by the goldsmith Bino Bini of Florence that had been donated to the Cathedral by Professor Roberto Wis in the 1950s.
The mosaic above the altar with the head of Christ was made in Florence in the early 1980s as a gift from Professor Wis for the parish priest Adrian Borst's 50th birthday. The Baptismal font is kept in the Sacrament Chapel. When the sacrament of Baptism is celebrated, the font can also be placed in front of the main altar of the church. The stained-glass windows of the chapel depict the Apostles; they were designed and made in 1957-1958 by the Finnish artist, Kitty Liljequist. All the stained-glass windows in the church were restored from 2006 to 2008 by the Meisterwerkstätte Glasmalerei Peters of Paderborn, Germany, a firm founded in 1912 and specialised in the restoration and preservation of stained glass. The above text is an edited version of the test printed in the leaflet St. Henry’s Cathedral in Helsinki, Finland. Edited by Pentti Hongisto, Diana Kaley, Anu Salminen and Marko Tervaportti. Translated by Miira Mäkelä and Diana Kaley. Copyright © 2010, 2013 Catholic Information Centre. |