THE 95 year-old Holy Trinity Cathedral in downtown Kingston is to be restored to its former glory through a project spearheaded by the National Commercial Bank Foundation which has pledged to cover most of the expenses.

No official cost for the project was given, but chairman of the NCB Foundation Thalia Lyn said the project could run about US$3 million. However, she said the real cost would not be known until a feasibility analysis of the 95 year-old Roman Catholic church is done.

Catholic Archbishop of Kingston the Most Rev Lawrence Burke told the large group of entrepreneurs and business people who attended Thursday’s launch of the restoration project, that work has already began on repairs to the roof, which should cost $5 million. Work will be done in phases.

He said the cathedral, named a national monument a few years ago, needed a complete restoration job which would include work on the historical pipe organ.

German Ambassador Volker Schlegen, who was among the guests, said his government would restore the pipe organ as well as the organ at the Kingston Parish Church.

“I will get an organ engineer from Germany down to Jamaica to check on the organ at the cathedral and not only this one but also the organ at the Kingston Parish Church and at no expense to Jamaica,” said Schlegen.

The restoration project is being partnered by the Spanish ambassador Jesus Silva, who has brought to Jamaica world renowned conservation and restoration expert from Spain, Professor Antonio Sanchez- Barrige, who will be in Jamaica for a week to analyse the restorative process, provide a plan to determine the extent of restoration work needed and advise how to proceed.

Shanchez-Barrige said during the seven to nine months of restoration the cathedral will not be closed as work would be done in such a manner as not to prevent worship.

Built in 1911, in a Byzantine design, to replace the Holy Trinity Church at the corner of Duke and Sutton Streets in downtown Kingston which was destroyed by the 1907 earthquake, the cathedral’s main architectural features include an 80-foot high copper covered doom with hand painted religious frescos.

On Thursday, Kingston Mayor Desmond McKenzie endorsed the project, promising that the KSAC would approve whatever is needed to help the project.

The mayor, who described the cathedral as the most outstanding religious symbol on North Street, said the project would ensure that Kingston continues to get the recognition it deserved.

NCB chairman Michael Lee-Chin, in expressing his gratitude for partnering with the programme, referred to the decay of the cathedral as a sign of social decay in Jamaica.

He added that he wanted the restoration work to be a microcosm of what the community wanted Jamaica to become.