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Windows to Our Past: the Stained Glass Windows of the Basilica Cathedral of St.John the Baptist
Basilica Museum
St. John's , Newfoundland and Labrador

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   A highlight of any visit
to the Basilica Cathedral of
St. John the Baptist in St.
John's, Newfoundland and
Labrador is a tour of the 66
beautiful stained glass
windows. Like the Basilica
Cathedral itself, the windows
represent the tireless effort
and generosity of the people

of the community of St.
John's over 150 years.
   In 1834, when Bishop
Michael Anthony Fleming
dreamed of building a large
and imposing cathedral for
Newfoundland, St. John's was
a small town of some 19,000
inhabitants, 14,000 of whom
were Catholic. Only the

perseverance and spirit of
these 19th century immigrants
to the new world made the
construction of Bishop
Fleming's dream possible.
Excavation began in 1839 with
men unloading stone from
boats in St. John's harbor,
women carrying mortar and
bricks in their aprons and

Bishop Fleming himself
standing waist deep in water
loading stones. The entire
community of St. John's and
outports, Irish and others,
Catholic and Protestant,
helped to build the massive
cathedral, one of the largest
buildings of any kind in
North America. In addition to

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