St. Pierre Cathedral


St. Pierre Cathedral cathedral in Geneva, Switzerland, was built as a Roman Catholic cathedral, but became a Reformed Protestant Church of Geneva church during the Reformation. It is known as the adopted home church of John Calvin, one of the leaders of the Protestant Reformation. Inside the church is a wooden chair used by Calvin.

History

Although this has been the site of a cathedral since the fourth century, the present building was begun under Arducius de Faucigny, the prince-bishop of the Diocese of Geneva, around 1160, in Gothic style. The interior of the large, cruciform, late-gothic church was stripped of its rood screen, side chapels, and all decorative works of art, leaving a vast, white-washed interior that contrasts sharply with the interior of surviving medieval churches in countries that continued to be part of the Roman Catholic Church. A Neo-Classical main facade was added in the 18th century. In the 1890s, Genevans redecorated a large, side chapel adjacent to the cathedral's man doors in polychrome, gothic revival style. The German painter Konrad Witz painted an altarpiece, the so-called St. Peter Altarpiece, for the cathedral in 1444, now in the Musée d'Art et d'Histoire, Geneva, which contains his composition, the Miraculous Draught of Fishes.
Currently, every summer a German Protestant minister is present, making it possible to hold bilingual services and meetings of both German and French Protestant worshippers.
On Whit Saturday, 30 May 2020, after nearly 485 years a catholic mass was to be celebrated in the cathedral as a symbol of ecumenical hospitality the first time again. Because of COVID-19, the celebration was first postponed from 29 February 2020 to 30 May 2020, but could again not be celebrated because of the pandemic. The celebration was postponed to 2021.

Bells

No.
Name
Year
Caster,
Gussort		Durchmesser
Mass
Strike tone
Tower
1La Clémence1902H. Rüetschi, Aarau21906238g0North
2L'Accord1845S. Treboux, Vevey15602080c1South
3La Bellerive1473Nicolas Guerci14001500e1North
4La Collavine160911401012g1South
5L'Espérance2002H. Rüetschi, Aarau930475a1South
6L'Eveil1845S. Treboux, Vevey750261c2South
7Le Rappel15th century590133e2South
ILa Cloche des Heures146012901610e1Spire
IILe Toscin1509760270cis2South

Gallery