Évry Cathedral

Évry Cathedral ("Cathédrale de la Résurrection d'Évry") is a Roman Catholic cathedral in the new town of Évry in France.

The Diocese of Corbeil or Corbeil-Essonnes [The name of the present town of Corbeil-Essonnes is spelt with a final -s; the name of the department Essonne in which the town is located is spelt without one] was created in 1966, and the parish church of Saint-Spire was elevated to the status of the bishop's seat as Corbeil Cathedral, but neither it nor any other of the existing churches was suitable in size and location, and the bishop's offices were in a converted primary school. Évry was the natural centre of the area and population of the new diocese, and was accordingly chosen as the episcopal centre - the diocese was renamed in 1988 the Diocese of Évry-Corbeil-Essonnes - but entirely lacked any suitable structure.

Évry Cathedral, to be dedicated to Saint Corbinian, was therefore specially commissioned from the Swiss architect Mario Botta. It is the only purpose-built cathedral in France of the 20th century [A number of new cathedrals have been created in the 20th century but apart from Évry they were all already in existence as churches or were reconstructions of previously existing buildings] . Construction began in 1992 and the building was opened to the public on 11 April 1995, dedicated on Easter Day 1996, and visited by Pope John-Paul II on 22 August 1997. It has now superseded Corbeil Cathedral.

Notes

ources

* en icon [http://cathedrale-evry.net Évry Cathedral unofficial website]
*

References

* Debruyères, F. "Ville nouvelle d'Evry (Essonne)", in "Travaux", March 1992, n. 674.
* Lavigne, Emma, 2000. "La cathédrale de la Résurrection d'Evry". (Monum.) Editions du Patrimoine, Paris. ISBN 2-85822-151-0