The St. Louis Capuchin Cathedral is the largest congregational church of the Roman Catholic community in Lebanon, it is currently led by the Capuchin Vice province in the Middle East. It was completed in 1864 as the old capuchin church in Riad el Solh which dated from 1732 was being moved as part of the Ottoman restructuring of the Beirut city center. The capuchins had initially arrived in Beirut in 1626 and had to share the old St. George Maronite church, where the current Maronite cCathedral stands since they had no dedicated structure in Beirut at that time. The Capuchin Cathedral is dedicated to Louis IX, the king of France. The Cathedral was held by the Italian Capuchins from 1868 to 1903 then by the French Capuchins between 1903 and 1952.
It was designed as an amalgamation of near eastern Byzantine and neo-gothic styles, as evident in its buttresses and interior spatial configuration. The current bell tower, built in the 1950’s is currently undergoing renovation works which are expected to be completed in 2019.
The Cathedral was bombarded and looted in December 1975, it would be shelled repeatedly throughout the battles to control central Beirut until the end of the civil war in 1990. It and was the first religious structure to be reopened in the city center following its renovation in the year 2000.
Sources:
Kassir, Samir. Histoire de Beyrouth. Paris: Fayard, 2003.
Gebran, Yacoub. "Eglise". Dictionnaire de l'architecture au Liban au XXème siècle. Alphamedia. Archived from the original on April 7, 2013. Retrieved October 20, 2018.
"Couvent Saint Louis - Bab Edriss." capucinsorient.org. Retrieved October 20, 2018.
