The Sacred Heart Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral and one of the oldest church buildings in Saddi Dilli. Together with the St. Columba’s School, and the Jesus and Mary Convent school, it occupies a total area of 14 acres near the south end of Bhai Vir Singh Marg Road in Connaught Place. The Church is located at the Gol Dak Khana near the Connaught place in Dilli. It is a landmark post office on the CP roundabout just between the Sacred Heart Cathedral and the Gurudwara Bangla Sahib in Dilli.
The Sacred Heart Cathedral is not only the most important Catholic Church in New Dilli but also is arguably one of the best in the entire India. Henry Medd who designed the Church of Redemption for the Anglicans designed this church to please the Catholics. His plan was selected among the eight plans put for the consideration before the panel of judges that included the likes of Sir Edwin Lutyens and Father Luke who was the driving force behind the construction of this beautiful cathedral.
Father Luke, a member of the Franciscan first order, founded by St. Francis of Assisi, took the initiative to build the church, and the Archbishop of Agra in 1929 Rev. Dr. E. Vanni laid the foundation stone in 1929 the construction subsequently began in 1930 and got completed 4 years. Sir Anthony de Mello donated the main Altar of the Church, which is made of pure marble. The Archbishop of Agra presented a bell, vestments and altar furniture. The project was financed by the colonial officers of the British Empire.
The church building was designed by British architect Henry Medd, and is based on Italian architecture. A façade of white pillars supports the canopy, and on each side of the cathedral’s entrance porch, there are circular arcaded turrets rising above the roof. The interior has a towering curved roof, polished stone floors and broad arches.
During Christmas, many festivities take place in the church and the most important is the Feast of the Holy Family of Nazareth. The cathedral assures participation of the weaker sections of the society by celebrating Christmas with pavement dwellers and lepers. Blankets and woolen clothes are bought from the donations given by the people. These are then donated among the pavement dwellers, thus living up to the ideals of St. Francis of Assisi.
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