The Holy Trinity Roman Catholic Cathedral on North Street in Kingston, which is a national heritage site, will be 100 years old on Saturday, February 5. It will be a rededicated at a Mass on Sunday, February 6 beginning at 3 pm. In Roman Catholic terms, a cathedral is where the cathedra is. And the cathedra is the throne of the bishop. It has nothing at all to do with the size of the church although cathedrals all over the world are usually large buildings.

The murals inside the church were done by American Jesuit brother James Schroen in time for the dedication in 1911. In recent times, the Spanish government has seen to the restoration of all the murals and the colours are very sharp. The pipe organ with its 120 pipes is reputedly the largest in Jamaica. The original Holy Trinity Church was erected on Duke Street in September 1811, 200 years ago this year. It was toppled in the 1907 earthquake which caused Bishop John J Collins to decree the construction of the current cathedral. The local Catholic Church was indebted to banks for years and Bishop Collins was heavily blamed for that.

One hundred years ago Holy Trinity Cathedral was the largest building in Jamaica. Up to the 1960s, its copper dome was visible from Palisadoes Road (now Norman Manley Highway) and from all elevations in Kingston and St Andrew . Whenever Test Cricket was being played in nearby Sabina Park, British Broadcasting Corporation radio commentators would mention the angelus bells that rang at at 12 pm and 6 pm every day until the bells fell into disrepair. In recent times the bells were restored.

In the 1950s Hotel Casa Montego in Montego Bay surpassed Holy Trinity Cathedral in size. The current ministry of education building was being constructed in 1960 while former governor general Florizel Glasspole was minister of education. The only precedent of a building that size was Casa Montego. So it was called "Hotel Glasspole" and "Glasspole's Glasshouse". Later came the other high rise buildings in Kingston and St. Andrew and Holy Trinity Cathedral was no longer conspicuous.

The principal form of worship for Roman Catholics is Holy Mass, the climax of which is the Holy Eucharist. The word Eucharist comes from two Greek words that mean "Thanksgiving". For Roman Catholics, Eucharist is the Body and Blood of Christ. The miraculous change from bread and wine during the consecratory prayers said by a bishop or priest is what the Council of Trent, the 19th major council of the church, defined as "transubstantiation".

This teaching is based on the words of Jesus Christ at the Passover, "Take this and eat, this is my body, take this and drink, this is my blood". It is also based on John 6:53: "Unless you eat of the flesh of the Son of Man and drink of his blood you shall not have life within you." The Ten Commandments (Exodus 201-17) is summarised as loving God with all one's heart, soul, strength and mind, and one's neighbour as oneself in Luke 10:27. One way of showing love for God with all our heart, with all our strength and with all our minds is in the adornment of the Holy Temple as found in the Book of Exodus.

At the dedication of the Holy Trinity Cathedral on February 5, 1911, the preacher of the sermon was Father Patrick Mulry, and it was published in full in A Catholic History of Jamaica BWI by Father Francis Delaney. Mulry said in part: "From the cross which surmounts its lordly dome to the last grain which makes up its massive foundations, it may well be considered one mighty voice, stone fixed on a wondering earth a voice of praise and of magnificence telling ever for each and everyone of us to a listening heaven the message of praise, "To thee, O Lord, have I lifted up my soul" (Psalm 24:1) Art and science can do no more for us".

Father Mulry also said, "Consummate skill has imaged above the altar the awesomeness of the Triune God; in Pentecostal rays evangelists bring down the fourfold radiance of their inspiration, the upper air is tremulous all with light from angel wings and below through hushed aisles in wave on wave of glorious harmony roll majestic organ tones on and on to where from marbled Calvary, the crucified looks forth and heeds. What more could our bishop have done even in the lavish daring of his thoroughly reckless love for the Divine Eucharist?"

I asked Archbishop Donald Reece if he has a "reckless love for the Eucharist", just to get a reaction and for my own amusement. He paused carefully before answering and then said, "Of course." I also put the question to Monsignor Kenneth Richards, vicar-general of the Archdiocese of Kingston and the rector of Holy Trinity Cathedral. His answer was more guarded, perhaps because the meaning of "reckless" might be different today, 100 years later. Monsignor Richards said, "I should like to think that my love for the Eucharist is not reckless but that I have a determined love for the Eucharist."

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