The Sacred Heart Cathedral in Lahore (Pakistan): The roots of the Sacred Heart Cathedral lie in the historical presence of the Belgian Capuchins in Pakistan. Monseigneur Godefroid Pelckmans (bishop of Lahore, 1893-1904) commissioned the Antwerp architect Dubbeleere to build a cathedral using Belgian support and materials. Construction of the cathedral was completed in 1907. In 2007 the cathedral’s hundredth birthday was celebrated. The Pakistani Government released a special stamp with the image of the cathedral and Pope Benedictus XVI sent a congratulatory telegram. In the following year, 2008, the cathedral was damaged by a heavy bomb attack on a government building nearby. The stained-glass windows were particularly damaged by the impact of the explosion. In the meantime they have been restored in Belgium.
The Prize for Belgian heritage abroad (....) does not only award the most outstanding local conservation initiatives, but is also meant to be an indirect incentive for better long-term conservation.
From the proposals sent in by Belgian embassies all over the world, the jury of experts chose 3 winners:2015 is the first year that the prize is being awarded. There is no monetary compensation attached to the prize. The winners are the local governments or private institutions responsible for the protection of the particular heritage site. Every winner will also be honoured by the local Belgian Embassy. The criteria for choosing the winners included: size and visibility of the heritage site, the historical, art-historic, economic and cultural significance of the heritage site, its importance for the bilateral relations and the possibilities of the winner to promote the prize locally in order to create public interest".
Source: Belgian Public Federal Service of Foreign Affairs
Like the stained glass.
ReplyDeleteGreetings,
Filip