Our Lady of Sorrows Chapel Located on the grounds of the Cemetery, Our Lady of Sorrows Chapel (also known as Our Lady of Dolours) is a municipally registered heritage property. On August 31, 1843, nearly 2000 volunteers marched from St. Mary’s Basilica on Barrington Street and, under the direction of Archbishop Walsh, built the structure in a single day. It is reported that the work progressed rapidly, efficiently, and cheerfully.
This simple chapel is built of wood on an ironstone foundation. It has a square tower at the front, a semi-circular apse and gothic-inspired windows. The east window of the chapel is made of stained glass with roundels considered to be of Flemish origin brought to Halifax possibly in the 1850’s. The window on the south aisle has a single roundel of Our Lady. Inside the chapel there is a simple altar of pine and pews for sitting and kneeling also made of pine. The chapel seats a congregation of seventy.
At the base of the Chapel’s altar are fiberglass replicas of rare medieval sculptures depicting three scenes from the Passion of Christ. It is believed that the original wooden sculptures were brought from Europe by Archbishop William Walsh and installed in the Chapel in the late 1840’s. The originals, which adorned the Chapel until approximately 1980, are now part of the permanent collection of the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia.
Catholic Mass is celebrated at the Chapel once yearly, on September 15 which is the Catholic feast day of Our Lady of Sorrows.
Read period accounts of the construction.
Related Link:
Archbishop William Walsh [Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online]
