The history of Cathédrale Saint-Pierre in Libreville

On Avenue SAVORGNAN DE BRAZZA in Libreville, stands the Cathédrale Saint-Pierre. The history of the church dedicated to Saint Peter dates back to the late 19th century. Because the Sainte-Marie church of 1850 became too small, a new building was required. The first stone of the old Saint-Pierre church was laid on May 24, 1882, and it was blessed on September 14, 1884. Between 1952 and 1955, work began to enlarge and embellish the structure.

In 1975, the decision was made to demolish the old Saint-Pierre church to make room for a new presidential palace for the 1977 summit of the Organisation de l'unité africaine (OUA). To compensate the archdiocese for the land and to preserve the architecture of the old church, the Gabonese state financed the construction of a copy of the old church at the site of the former Notre-Dame-des-Victoires de Glass, which was demolished to make way for it.

The first stone of the new church was laid on February 28, 1982, by Pope John Paul II. The new church was then blessed on June 29, 1986, by the apostolic pro-nounce Donato Squicciarini. In 2015 and 2016, construction included repairs following problems with waterproofing, and a bronze bell tower was ordered and manufactured in Lyon to be installed.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons