Roman Catholic Cathedral of Phnom Penh

Notre Dame Cathedral, also known as the Cathedral of Phnom Penh (Khmer: រាជធានីភ្នំពេញវិហារ; French: Cathédrale de Phnom Penh), was a 19th-century French Gothic revival church that served as the cathedral of the Apostolic Vicariate of Phnom Penh. It was located in the Russei Keo District of the city on Monivong Boulevard.

Cathedral of Christ the King
Cathedral of Phnom Penh
Cathedral of Christ the King
A cathedral with two spires
11.5752°N 104.917°E / 11.5752; 104.917
LocationMonivong Boulevard, Phnom Penh
CountryCambodia
DenominationRoman Catholic
History
StatusCathedral
Architecture
Functional statusDestroyed
Architect(s)Louis Chauchon
Maurice Masson
Henri Chatel
StyleFrench Gothic
Completed1927
DemolishedApril 1975
Administration
DioceseApostolic Vicariate of Phnom Penh

The construction of the cathedral began in the 19th century and was overseen by the French colonial government in Cambodia. The architectural style has been described as resembling Reims Cathedral.[1] Shortly after the Khmer Rouge captured Phnom Penh at the end of the Cambodian Civil War, the cathedral was destroyed.

History

In 1863, Cambodia became a protectorate of France within its colonial empire. Construction of the cathedral most likely started after this time.[2] It was built near the riverfront of the Mekong[3] and was situated at the heart of Phnom Penh on the Monivong Boulevard[4] in the Russei Keo District,[5] a few blocks away from Wat Phnom. A Bishop's Palace[6] and a church library[7] were built adjacent to the cathedral, which was hailed as an "architectural legacy of the French" by The New York Times.[8]

The grounds of the cathedral was the site of the Russei Keo refugee camp from May 1970 onwards. It harboured 10,000 refugees from North Vietnam who were displaced by the Vietnam War.[3] In October 1972, intense fighting between the Khmer Republic and the Khmer Rouge during the Cambodian Civil War commenced outside of the capital city. One incident resulted in two Khmer Rouge rockets landing behind the cathedral. However, nothing serious arose from the incident.[9] Another similar rocket attack occurred in January 1974. This time, the rectory of the cathedral was damaged.[10]

The Khmer Rouge eventually won the civil war and entered Phnom Penh on April 17, 1975. The new atheistic[8] regime declared the country would go back to "Year Zero"[2] and destroyed anything capitalistic,[8] religious[11] or evoking the colonial past.[12] To the Khmer Rouge, the cathedral epitomized all three characteristics and, as a result, it was the first building in the capital city to be destroyed under their new government.[13] The new regime was so steadfast in attempting to eliminate all forms of religion that it tore the cathedral down stone by stone.[1][8] All that remained was barren wasteland that did not contain a single trace of the church's existence.[2][11] In addition to the destruction of the church, the neighbouring Catholic cemetery was converted into a banana plantation[14] and books from the library were burned outside on the church lawn.[7] Dismantled stones from the cathedral were used to reinforce dams for paddy farming.[15] The cathedral was one of all the seventy-three Catholic churches around the country to be obliterated in 1975, the first year of Khmer Rouge rule of Cambodia.[11]

Despite its complete destruction, the empty land where the cathedral once stood became the location of a multi-faith Christmas celebration in 1979, the year the Khmer Rouge's regime was overthrown.[16] The Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications now stands on the site of the former cathedral.[4]

Architecture

The cathedral was built in a French Gothic revival style.[1][2] The exterior walls of the church were ochre[17] and made of red brick.[8] Located outside the cathedral above the entrance was a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Made of sandstone, the statue was inscribed with the words: "Queen of Justice, Love and Peace."[18] The only existing feature of the cathedral to survive the Khmer Rouge regime is a set of bells that were previously hung in the church's bell towers. They are now situated on the entrance steps of the National Museum of Cambodia.[12]

See also

References
  1. Pilger, John (February 15, 2011). Tell Me No Lies: Investigative Journalism and its Triumphs. Random House. p. 129. ISBN 9781407085708. Retrieved December 6, 2012.
  2. Pilger, John (November 6, 1979). "Year Zero: horror haunts crippled Cambodia". The Ottawa Citizen. p. 7. Retrieved December 6, 2012.
  3. "Cambodian Viets Go Home, But They've Never Seen It". The Lewiston Daily Sun. July 31, 1970. p. 9. Retrieved December 6, 2012.
  4. Osborne, Milton (September 4, 2008). Phnom Penh: A Cultural History. Oxford University Press. p. 24. ISBN 9780199711734. Retrieved December 6, 2012.
  5. Edwards, Penny (2007). Cambodge: The Cultivation of a Nation, 1860–1945. University of Hawaii Press. p. 56. ISBN 9780824829230. Retrieved December 6, 2012.
  6. Igout, Michel (2001). Phnom Penh then and now. White Lotus. p. 67. ISBN 9789748495842. Retrieved December 7, 2012.
  7. Isaacs, Arnold R. (December 30, 1998). Without Honor: Defeat in Vietnam and Cambodia. JHU Press. p. 288. ISBN 9780801861079. Retrieved December 7, 2012.
  8. Shenon, Philip (June 25, 1995). "Phnom Penh's Faded Beauty". The New York Times. Retrieved December 6, 2012.
  9. "Phnom Penh Under Attack by Infiltrators". Merced Sun-Star. Associated Press. October 6, 1972. p. 12. Retrieved December 7, 2012.
  10. Esper, George (January 21, 1974). "South Vietnamese Concede Military Victory To China". The Robesonian. Lumberton. Associated Press. p. 2. Retrieved December 7, 2012.
  11. Thomas, Sarah J. "Prosecuting the Crime of Destruction of Cultural Property" (PDF). GenocideWatch.org. Genocide Watch. Retrieved December 13, 2012. Following its seizure of power in April 1975, the Khmer Rouge regime proclaimed a return to "Year Zero" and set about demolishing links to the past, to the outside world and to religion. The...regime attacked Christian places of worship, even disassembling the Catholic cathedral of Phnom Penh stone by stone until only a vacant lot remained. The Khmer Rouge destroyed all 73 Catholic churches in existence in 1975.
  12. Osborne, Milton E. (2008). Phnom Penh: A Cultural and Literary History. Signal Books. pp. 149–151. ISBN 9781904955405. Retrieved December 7, 2012.
  13. "The Right Rev Michael Evans – Roman Catholic Bishop of East Anglia who furthered the cause of ecumenism and helped to rebuild the persecuted Church in Cambodia". The Times. London. August 2, 2011. p. 48. Retrieved December 7, 2012. (subscription required)
  14. Jones, Christopher (November 14, 1980). "Phnom Penh down, but on way back". The Vancouver Sun. p. 6. Retrieved December 7, 2012.
  15. Ehlert, Caroline (2013-10-24). Prosecuting the Destruction of Cultural Property in International Criminal Law: With a Case Study on the Khmer Rouge's Destruction of Cambodia's Heritage. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. p. 184. ISBN 978-90-04-25763-4.
  16. "Christmas spirit in Phnom Penh". The Sydney Morning Herald. Australian Associated Press. December 27, 1979. p. 4. Retrieved December 7, 2012.
  17. "The road to Phnom Penh: Old Cambodia has almost vanished". The Daily News. Middlesboro. March 27, 1982. p. 8. Retrieved December 6, 2012.
  18. Elegant, Robert S. (July 16, 1970). "Cambodians Fight, Back to the Wall". The Victoria Advocate. p. 4A. Retrieved December 6, 2012.
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