ERITREA: Centenary Celebration of St. Mary of the Rosary Cathedral Asmara, Eritrea (1923

From Eritrean Catholic Secretariat

One hundred years of the Jubilee of St. Mary of the Rosary Cathedral was celebrated on 19^th November 2023 in Asmara, Eritrea’s capital, with great enthusiasm and joyfully colored Holy Mass.

St. Mary of the Rosary Cathedral was the first seat of the Missionary Bishop, the late Bishop Camillo Francesco Carrara a member of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin (OFM Cap.), and its Romanesque-style building gives Asmara a special beauty by the recognizable bell tower.

Preparations for the Centenary celebration were conducted for nearly a year through various research, campaigns, prayer programs, and pilgrimages to the Cathedral particularly from nine parishes of the Archeparchy of Asmara. Finally, the main day was concluded by a Thanksgiving Eucharistic celebration on Sunday, November 19, with the main celebrant Archbishop Menghisteab Tesfamariam, and co-celebrants, Bishop Kidanemariam Yebiyo, of Keren Eparchy, Bishop Fikremariam Hagos of Segeneiti Eparchy and 20 diocesan and religious priests.

The Apostolic Nuncio to Eritrea and Sudan Archbishop Luis Miguel Munoz Cardaba, who was also among the participants, later celebrated the Holy Mass in Italian language.

In his homily, Archbishop Menghisteab highlighted the need for all Catholic families all over the world to join in helping the poor and praying for them saying, “This Sunday is internationally dedicated to be the day of the poor, and we join our fellow Catholics in praying together for them (the poor).”

He continued, “We have the responsibility to join them in spirit and help the poor who are amongst us longing to hear the sweet words of our Lord and King Jesus saying ‘I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me,” (Mt. 26:40).

Reflecting on the cleansing of the Temple (John 2:13 – 22) Archbishop Menghesteab emphasizes that “this is the house of God and we have to give due respect for this sacred place where we come to meet with God in prayer, to ask for his help and guidance, for his forgiveness, to venerate this Holy place not to make a place of business as the Jews were doing.

He further stressed that Jesus was not against the Temple aware that he was going to pray and teach in the Temple, he was presented by Mary and Joseph in the Temple and he was found among the teachers in the Temple of Jerusalem.

The Prelate expressed his appreciation to the late Bishop Carrara who built the Cathedral with great wisdom and architectural design and to the architecture experts remembering the souls of those who have departed and contributed to the construction of the cathedral.

Talking about Synod on Synodality which is an ongoing concern in the Church, the Archbishop underscored that the Church is losing out the concept of unity and people’s faith is decreasing.

“Today in the Western world going to Church and attending Holy Mass is only for the old people, but in reality, faith and prayer are crucially important for every one of us,” The prelate said and expressed his gratitude for the faithful for accompanying them (synod delegates) with prayers for the success of the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops which concluded in October.

At the end of the Holy Mass, the Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Cardaba, read Pope Francis’ letter of unity and blessings for the Catholic Church of Eritrean and the people of God.

The one-hundred-year of the Cathedral was to be celebrated on October 14, 2023, as St. Mary of the Rosary Cathedral was completed in September 1923 and was consecrated on October 14^th that year but was postponed to November 19, 2023, by the Council of Catholic Bishops, Eritrea, and the Archbishop was a delegate.

The construction of the Cathedral started in June 1921, by Bishop Camillo Carrara (1871 – 1924) and was completed in September 1923, followed by a blessing on October 1923. This cathedral served as the seat of the bishops until 1930.

Bishop Kidanemariam Kasa was nominated the bishop of Asmara, a follower of Geez Rite and St. Mary of the Rosary Cathedral, which was the Seat for bishops, transferred to the Kidane Mehret Cathedral of Our Lady of Perpetual Help.

The total estimated area of the compound is approximately around 40,000-meter square and St. Mary of the Rosary Cathedral is the single largest structure of sacred architecture. The premises include a small cinema hall, printing press, cloister, offices, and school of Philosophy and Theology. The bell tower is 52 meters high and was completed in 1924 fitted with a clock face on all four sides. On the clock face overlooking the main street in Asmara, one can read the Roman numerals A.D. MCMXXIV, which marks the date of completion. There are eight bells tuned to render the eight notes of an octave, weighing 110 quintals in total and the biggest one weigh 38 quintals.

Before the construction of the current cathedral, there was a small church named as St. Mark the Evangelist which was built in 1895. With the increased number of Catholics, both Italian and Eritreans, this St. Mark church had become too small with the capacity of holding only 250 people, and this pushed Bishop Camillo Carrara to take the initiative and build a new bigger church. The St. Mark small church was destroyed after the inauguration of St. Mary of the Rosary.