Chapel of Our Lady of Sorrows

A church
built
in a
day
The Chapel of Our Lady of Sorrows is a spooky old church built in a spooky old cemetery. Constructed in 1843 it certainly isn’t the oldest church in Halifax but it does have one very unique characteristic, it was built in a single day.
Back in the middle of the 19^th century the Catholic community of Halifax was growing quickly so the archbishop decided the city needed a church in the south end. So he got together over 1,800 volunteers and on one morning in Aug. they all strolled from St. Mary’s Basilica over to the Holy Cross Cemetery and started to work on the new Catholic church.
They must have worked furiously because by the end of the day the church was completed. Pretty much the whole thing in just one day. Sure it isn’t one of the the monstrous Medieval cathedrals in Europe but it is a cool little church in a spooky Gothic style that holds about 70 people.
The church has been sort of patched up over the decades and it definitely looks like it could use some restoration. The Holy Cross Cemetery is a pretty cool place too and some of the most famous people in the history of Halifax have been buried here. It has lots of funky old gravestones and lots of weird crows making strange and haunting crow noises.
The Chapel is only open for mass one day a year but it has a huge stain glass window that was built in 1661 and some wood cravings from a Flemish church that date from the middle of the 16^th century. Not a spectacular church but one that that certainly is interesting. Just the spooky old cemetery is worth a look. The Chapel of Our Lady of Sorrows shows what a group of dedicated volunteers can accomplish in one day.