View source for Cathedral of Saint Vincent de Paul

{{Infobox religious building
|name = Cathedral of St. Vincent de Paul
|image = Cathedral of St. Vincent de Paul.jpg
|image_size = 250px
|caption = Façade of the cathedral
|building_name = Cathedral of St. Vincent de Paul
|location = [[Tunis]], [[Tunisia]]
|geo = {{coord|36|48|0|N|10|10|44|E|source:itwiki_region:TN_type:landmark|display=it}}
|religious_affiliation = [[Roman Catholic Church]]
|rite = [[Roman Rite]]
|region =
|province = [[Archdiocese of Tunis]]
|functional_status = Active
|status = [[Cathedral]]
|leadership = Archbishop [[Nicolas Lhernould]]
|website = {{URL|http://www.diocesetunisie.org}}
|architect = 
|architecture_type = [[church architecture|church]]
|architecture_style = [[Moorish Revival architecture|Moorish]], [[Gothic Revival architecture|Gothic]], [[Neo-Byzantine architecture|Neo-Byzantine]]
|groundbreaking = 1890
|year_completed = 1897
|construction_cost=
|capacity=
|specifications=no
|dome_quantity=
|dome_height_outer=
|dome_dia_outer=
|minaret_quantity=
|minaret_height=
|materials=
}}
[[File:Saint Victor de Tunis.jpg|thumb|Bilingual plaque in the Cathedral of Saint Vincent de Paul, Tunis, commemorating [[Pope Victor I]] (r. AD 189–199), who was from [[Africa (Roman province)|Africa Proconsularis]] and, thus, possibly from modern Tunisia.]]
The '''Cathedral of St. Vincent de Paul''' ({{langx|ar|كاتدرائية القديس فنسون دو بول بتونس}}, {{langx|fr|Cathédrale Saint-Vincent-de-Paul de Tunis}}) is a [[Roman Catholic]] [[church architecture|church]] located in [[Tunis]], [[Tunisia]]. The [[cathedral]] is dedicated to Saint [[Vincent de Paul]], [[patron saint]] of charity. It is the [[episcopal see]] of the [[Archdiocese of Tunis]] and is situated at Place de l'Indépendence in Ville Nouvelle, a crossroads between [[Avenue Habib Bourguiba]] and Avenue de France, opposite the French embassy.
[[File:ETH-BIB-Platz vor der Kathedrale Saint-Vincent-de-Paul in Tunis-Nordafrikaflug 1932-LBS MH02-13-0052.tif|upright|thumb|left|The cathedral in 1932]]
The church, designed by L. Bonnet-Labranche, was built in a mixture of styles, including [[Moorish Revival architecture|Moorish revival]], [[Gothic revival architecture|Gothic revival]], and [[Neo-Byzantine architecture|Neo-Byzantine]] architectural traditions. The cornerstone was laid in 1890, and construction began in 1893. The church was opened on [[Christmas]] in 1897,<ref>{{cite web|title=Tunis cathedral|url=http://www.sites-tunisie.org.tn/en/Monument.php?ref_monument=308&ref_ville=1&lib_ville=Tunis&couleur=AED1F9|publisher=Government of Tunisia|accessdate=10 July 2011|author=Portal of Tunisian Monuments and Sites}}{{dead link|date=August 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> albeit without its [[belltower]]s owing to a shortage of funds. The reinforced concrete towers were completed in 1910 using the Hennebique technique.<ref>{{cite book | author-first=Daniel E. | author-last=Coslett | contribution=(Re)creating a Christian Image Abroad: The Catholic Cathedrals of Protectorate-era Tunis | title= Sacred Precincts: The Religious Architecture of Non-Muslim Communities across the Islamic World | editor-first=Mohammad |editor-last=Gharipour |location=Boston, Massachusetts | publisher= Brill | date=2015 | pages=353–75}}</ref>

Cardinal [[Charles Lavigerie]] laid the first stone for a church on 7 November 1881, a little further down Avenue de la Marine (now Avenue Habib Bourguiba). This was a [[pro-cathedral]]; the cathedral of the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Tunis|archdiocese]] (then called [[Carthage]]) being the [[Saint Louis Cathedral, Carthage|Saint Louis Cathedral]].<ref>{{cite book|last=O'Donnell|first=Joseph Dean|title=Lavigerie in Tunisia : the interplay of imperialist and missionary|url=https://archive.org/details/lavigerieintunis0000odon|url-access=registration|year=1979|publisher=University of Georgia Press|location=Athens|isbn=978-0-8203-0456-4}}</ref> The pro-cathedral was built quickly, but its condition soon deteriorated due to the adverse ground conditions, necessitating the construction of the current cathedral.

The number of Roman Catholics in Tunisia fell rapidly following Tunisian independence from France. A [[modus vivendi]] reached between the Republic of Tunisia and the [[Holy See|Vatican]] in 1964 resulted in the transfer of selected buildings to the Tunisian state for public use, including the [[Acropolium of Carthage]] in Carthage. However, the Cathedral of St. Vincent de Paul remains under the ownership and operation of the [[Roman Catholicism in Tunisia|Roman Catholic Church in Tunisia]].

==See also==
*[[Chapelle Saint-Louis de Carthage]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Cathedral Saint-Vincent-de-Paul of Tunis}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090814110931/http://www.diocesetunisie.org/inglese/paging/maining.htm Archdiocese of Tunis page] 
* [http://en.structurae.de/structures/data/index.cfm?id=s0026178 Cathedral of St. Vincent de Paul on] [[structurae]]

{{Authority control}}
{{Catholic Church in Tunisia}}

[[Category:Churches completed in 1897]]
[[Category:19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Africa]]
[[Category:Roman Catholic cathedrals in Tunisia|Vincent de Paul]]
[[Category:Religious buildings and structures in Tunis]]
[[Category:Byzantine Revival architecture in Tunisia]]
[[Category:Gothic Revival church buildings in Tunisia]]
[[Category:Moorish Revival architecture]]