Mary in Vancity

I’ve always wanted to write about certain buildings around the city that I love. I’m starting with Christ Church Cathedral because in my humble opinion, this is the most peaceful, beautiful building in the entire city.

Anyone who’s ever taken the Skytrain downtown to Burrard Station knows what I’m talking about. As soon as you step out of the station the buzzing and organized chaos that is Vancouver awaits. Lots of metal, glass, cement… and all of a sudden, just like a mirage, there it is…

The Cathedral itself it’s not a very old building, although it holds the distinction of being the oldest church in Vancouver.It was dedicated in 1895, and was built-in the old gothic style. It features 29 stained-glass windows, each describing a story from the New Testament. It is the cathedral of the Diocese of New Westminster in the Anglican Church of Canada. The church’s motto? “Open doors, open hearts, open minds”.

Now I’m not a religious person, I may say I’m spiritual, but not religious. But there is an aura of calmness in this building that I cannot describe. I went thru a hard time in my life recently, and it required daily trips to St. Paul’s hospital. It was during the Olympics, so the cathedral was open until 9pm most nights. One particularly hard visit, I really didn’t think I had the strength to make it home. The cathedral was open, so I entered.

Almost right away I had a sense of peace that I hadn’t felt in a while. I simply sat in a pew. Nobody bothered me, and it was nice. I felt comforted. Afterwards, I lit a candle, I made a donation, and I went home.

Regardless of what your religion is, I think we can all appreciate this place for what it really is: a place of calmness, refuge and quiet meditation.

You can find more information about the church on their website: www.cathedral.vancouver.bc.ca   They also host several concerts during the year.