Festival of Trees to celebrate cathedral centennial

GUYANA

The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception will celebrate 100 years since it was opened by Bishop Compton Galton SJ in December 1925. According to a Catholic Standard article, the construction, by a British company, took over a decade. The Cathedral was designed by Sir Leonard Stokes, who was President of the Royal Society of British Architects.

As part of the centennial celebration, a Festival of Trees is planned for November 17 and 18. Parishes all around Georgetown, up to Plaisance on the east, Little Diamond to the south and Malgre Tout to the west, are invited to display trees. “This is the first event of this kind to be held in Guyana and a fitting way to celebrate the centenary,” stated the diocesan weekly.

This will be followed by the Feast Day Mass on December 8 and the Festival of Carols on December 12. The Festival of Carols, now in its 54th year, was the idea of Fr Patrick Conners SJ, while he was acting Administrator of the Cathedral in 1968.