page_title: St Monica's Cathedral, Cairns
section_title: Description
hierarchical_section_title: St Monica's Cathedral, Cairns / Description
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Kath. Dom, Cairns, Queensland, Australien
context_page_description: St Monica's Cathedral is the cathedral church of the Catholic Diocese of Cairns. It is located at 183 Abbott Street, Cairns, Queensland, Australia. The cathedral was designed by Ian Ferrier and built from 1967 to 1968. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 31 August 1998.
context_section_description: St Monica's War Memorial Cathedral is located fronting Abbott Street to the northeast, between the Bishop's House to the north and St Joseph's Convent to the south, within a highly intact ecclesiastical group.
  In form, the cathedral consists of one large rectangular space of equal height which houses the narthex, choir gallery, nave and sanctuary. Single-storeyed side verandahs are partially enclosed in places to house a side chapel, confessionals, and entrance to the baptistery, with a single-storeyed vestry and sacristy structure at the rear of the sanctuary. The baptistery is a separate structure with a circular plan which is attached to the northern side of the narthex.
  The cathedral has a reinforced concrete frame clad externally with red brickwork and internally with cream brickwork. The dominant external expression is of a large rectangular box articulated by regularly spaced reinforced concrete arched window units surmounted by reinforced concrete spandrel panels and separated by brick piers to parapet height concealing a shallow pitched hipped roof. A single-storeyed verandah with a deep fascia to a horizontal awning supported by concrete columns is located along either side of the cathedral.
  The Abbott Street elevation comprises a wide central reinforced concrete arched window surmounting paired timber panelled entrance doors on which are housed the Coat of Arms of the previous Bishops of Cairns. A cantilevered horizontal awning is located above the entrance doors covering a driveway, and the central window has a large reinforced concrete cross clad in ceramic tiles. The central window is flanked by brick piers with a narrower reinforced concrete arched window to either side. The three windows have been reglazed with stained/painted glass forming the commemorative "Peace Window". The Abbott Street elevation is framed by wide panels of brickwork to parapet height, which are flanked by the enclosed ends of the single- storeyed side verandahs each of which have a brickwork panel separated from the main body of the cathedral by a vertical strip of glazing. The enclosed end of the northern verandah forms the entrance to the baptistery.
  The baptistery has a circular plan, and in elevation comprises narrow reinforced concrete arched window units surmounted by reinforced concrete spandrel panels and separated by brick piers. The baptistery has a shallow pitched roof with a central aluminium fleche which has a curved base and is surmounted by a cross.
  Both sides of the cathedral comprise twelve reinforced concrete arched window units surmounted by reinforced concrete spandrel panels and separated by brick piers, with wider panels of brickwork at either end. Paired timber panelled doors surmounted by pivoting fanlights are located below each arched window and open from the nave and sanctuary onto the side verandahs. The fanlights are glazed to match the arched windows above. Three bays of the southern verandah are enclosed to form a side chapel adjacent to the sanctuary. This side chapel has five narrow reinforced concrete arched window units which are separated by brick piers. All windows in the cathedral were originally glazed with a burgundy red field and an amber border; however, the eastern windows and a number of the northern windows to the nave and sanctuary have been reglazed with stained/painted glass. Two sets of paired confessionals, which are the same height as the side doors and are surmounted by fanlights, are located on both side verandahs.
  The rear of the cathedral has a single-storeyed structure which house the vestry and sacristy. It is designed to the same proportions as the side verandahs, and has narrow reinforced concrete arched windows at either end, and the rear wall has small regularly spaced rectangular windows. The rear wall of the sanctuary is face brick to parapet height.
  Internally, the cathedral has an overwhelming red glow from the vast expanse of burgundy red glass in the windows. However, this is gradually being diminished with the replacement of the glass with stained/painted glass. The
caption: Interior of the cathedral
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