Saint Francis Xavier Church, Dublin

Church in County Dublin, Ireland
53°21′28″N 6°15′36″W / 53.357892°N 6.259949°W / 53.357892; -6.259949LocationUpper Gardiner Street, County DublinCountryIrelandDenominationRoman CatholicReligious orderSociety of JesusWebsitegardinerstparish.ieHistoryFounded1832DedicationFrancis XavierConsecrated3 May 1832ArchitectureArchitect(s)Fr Bartholomew Esmonde SJ & Joseph B. KeaneArchitectural typeChurchStyleClassicalGroundbreaking2 July 1829AdministrationArchdioceseDublinDeaneryNorth City CentreParishGardiner Street Parish

Saint Francis Xavier Church, popularly known as Gardiner Street Church, is a Catholic church on Upper Gardiner Street near Mountjoy Square in Dublin, Ireland. The church is run by the Jesuits.

History

Designed by Father Bartholomew Esmonde SJ and erected by the architect Joseph B. Keane as a Classical cut granite stone essay, the first stone was laid on 2 July 1829, the year of Catholic Emancipation. The church was opened on 3 May 1832, though the parish website says "The High Altar ... was designed and assembled in Rome by Fr. B. Esmonde ... who with Mr John B. Keane was the architect of the church". Architectural critic Christine Casey describes it in her book, Dublin, as "the most elegant church of the period in Dublin".[1] The building is known for its collection, sculpted altar piece, and paintings, mostly Italian in origin and dating from the Victorian period. The design of St Francis Xavier Church reflects Father B. Esmonde's knowledge of the temples of Italy acquired during his residency there.[2]

In 1889 the funeral was held here for the poet Gerard Manley Hopkins.

The church features in James Joyce's short story "Grace" from Dubliners and in the 1991 film The Commitments where the church organ is used to play A Whiter Shade of Pale.[3]

The Latin text on the pediment reads, DEO UNI ET TRINO SUB INVOC S FRANCISCI XAVERII which translates in English as, "to God one and Three under the invocation of St Francis Xavier".[4]

The remains of the Blessed John Sullivan are enshrined in the church.[5]

  • Left Transept
    Left Transept
  • Main Church
    Main Church
  • View of altar
    View of altar
  • Sullivan tomb
    Sullivan tomb
  • Right Transept
    Right Transept

See also

References

  1. ^ Casey, Christine (2005). Dublin: The Buildings of Ireland (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Ireland). Yale University Press.
  2. ^ Cosgrove, Dillon (1909). "North Dublin: City and Environs", MH Gill and Sons, ch4, ch8
  3. ^ "Film locations for The Commitments (1991)". Retrieved 5 September 2015.
  4. ^ Pierce, David (2008). "Reading Joyce", Pearson Education Limited, p174
  5. ^ "Fr John Sullivan". Gardiner Street Parish. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
  • Chapter VI of Dillon Cosgraves' North Dublin, mentioning the building of the church
  • Official website of the church