St. Lucia's Cathedral

The construction did not go to plan, however, with work having to be halted in 1877 due to a lack of funds. The following years saw more problems, with Bishop Sillani dying in Rome in 1878, and Fr. Tabarrani leaving Ceylon in 1880 (and dying just two years later in Rome). Nevertheless, May 1880 saw Fr. Bonifiglio Baldoni take charge of the project, the four planned arches being completed by the end of August. Nearly a year later, "at 11.00, the last keystone was driven in place.” The work on most of the main portion of the cathedral, despite the many problems in funding, had been completed. The church celebrated "the Great Day", with Bishop Clement Pagnani (now Vicar Apostolic of Colombo) blessing the nave and the aisles of the new Cathedral and opening it for public worship. The highlight of the day was the first Holy Mass offered for the benefactors of the Cathedral. Construction was far from done, however, and in 1883 the new Vicar Apostolic, Bishop Bonjean, appointed Fr. Tanganelli to carry on the building of the cathedral. Less than a year later, both men had left Ceylon (Bonjean to Rome, and Tanganelli to China), leaving the project in the hands of Fr. Joseph Mary Louise Boisseau. Boisseau, by 1885, had completed work on the Sanctuary vault and the Southern vault, with the final one being completed in December of that year. It would not be until 1902, however, that the last of the work would be completed and the scaffolding removed. Pope Leo XIII, in his apostolic brief of 1885 conferred a number of privileges on St. Lucia’s Cathedral, one of which was it being declared the Cathedral Church of the 'Vicariate of Colombo’. Bishop Bonjean returned to the island soon after this, bringing with him an authentic portion of the bones of St. Lucy, which are preserved in the cathedral to this day. 6 January 1887 was a significant date for Catholicism in Ceylon: the Church's hierarchy was formally established, and the first Episcopal Synod was held in the country. A Papal Delegate and the Bishops of the Island were gathered in the Cathedral to witness this singular event in the history of the Church of Ceylon. On 12 December, the vigil for the feast of St. Lucy, the patroness of the newly completed Cathedral, was formally held. With construction still ongoing, September 1889 saw the crypt dedicated to the Sacred Passion of the Lord being declared open for public worship. The first Holy Mass was celebrated on the first Friday of that month. By the end of the construction project, the church had costed a total of Rs. 160,000- an enormous amount of money in the last century, provided by the Ceylonese Catholics of the time.