Saint Mary Cathedral Yangon
Saint Mary’s Cathedral or Immaculate Conception Cathedral is a Catholic cathedral located on Bo Aung Kyaw Street in Botahtaung Township, The cathedral’s exterior, of red brick, consists of spires and a bell tower. St Mary’s was one of two major Christian churches built at the turn of the 20th century. The other is the Anglican Holy Trinity Cathedral in nearby Pabedan Township.
The Cathedral was designed by Dutch architect Joseph Cuypers , son of Pierre Cuypers. Cuypers submitted two different designs for the Rangoon assignment. The first one represented a mixture of his Saint Bavo Cathedral in Haarlem with added ‘oriental’ influences as understood at the time. The second—successful—proposal was a more conventional, European-style cathedral in Gothic Revival style. As he had never set foot in Rangoon, Cuypers’ designs required revisions for local conditions. Father Jenzen, who studied with Cuypers in the Netherlands, oversaw these adaptations in Rangoon. His close supervision of the untrained staff ensured the foundation’s successful stabilisation. The cornerstone of white marble was laid in 1899. Later Jenzen felt confident enough to add spirals to Cuypers’ towers, placing significant additional weight upon the existing structure.
History of the origin and construction
Construction began in 1895 and was completed 19 November 1899 under a land grant from the Government of India, whilst Lower Burma was a province of British India. During the 1930 Rangoon earthquake, St. Mary’s Cathedral suffered little damage and it withstood the Japanese invasion during World War II. However, the cathedral’s stained glass windows were damaged during the Allied invasion of Rangoon.
Opening Hours : 08am-12pm and 2 pm- 5pm
Entrance Fee : Free
Location : 372, Bo Aung Kyaw Street, Botahtaung Township, Yangon