Holy Redeemer Cathedral

Holy Redeemer Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral in the city of Belize City, Belize. It is canonically the mother church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Belize City-Belmopan. It shares the role with Our Lady of Guadalupe Co-Cathedral in Belmopan, though the Bishop's offices remain at Holy Redeemer. Pope John Paul II made the first Papal visit to Belize and visited the cathedral in 1983.HistoryThe present structure goes back to 1858 and is of brick, mostly salvaged from the ballast of sailing ships that transported logwood and mahogany back to England. In 1888 the side walls were moved out in line with the side chapels and bell towers, with high windows and a sacristy added. The church became a cathedral in 1894, with Salvatore di Pietro the first bishop to reside in Belize. The building displayed its fully brick exterior until the 1920s, but has since been plastered over. The interior is entirely of mahogany but only the pews, high altar, and side altars retain their mahogany finish. The rest has been painted over. The disused choir loft once housed a pipe organ, destroyed by termites. After the 1961 hurricane the wooden floor was replaced with concrete and tile. The same storm destroyed many of the stained glass windows and a di Pietro memorial.