2024-07-24 10:24:15
Located at the corner of rue d’Alger and boulevard Rachdi, in the Gautier district, in the heart of the old Anfa, the renovated Cathedral now houses many cultural events, thus setting, once again, the tone for a new life given to this emblematic building of the economic capital of the Kingdom.
The new vocation of the cathedral was made official last November, with the signing of three agreements aimed at promoting cultural and artistic activities, involving the Ministry of Youth, Culture and Communication, the Municipality of Casablanca and the local development company Casablanca Events & Animation.
For Casablanca residents, the cathedral is part of the city’s visual and architectural identity, as well as its heritage. “It impresses visitors, of course, but it stands out. For us Casablanca residents, it is a natural part of the general decor to which we have become accustomed,” says Omar, a taxi driver.
The building is particularly impressive for its size, so imposing that it has been wrongly given the label of Casablanca Cathedral, since the city is not the seat of a bishopric. The only cathedral in Morocco is in fact that of Tangier.
The Sacré Cœur church was built from 1930 onwards, during the French colonisation period, by the architect Paul Tournon – who was none other than the one who built the “Notre-Dame-de-l’Océan” church in Rabat two years earlier – in an architectural style combining neo-Gothic and art deco, not without Moroccan Muslim influences, to serve as a place of worship for the Catholic community.
Known for its unique and fascinating architecture, the Cathedral is surrounded by a vast public garden, the Arab League Park. It represents an interesting experiment in the decorative use of cast concrete. Its architecture is inspired by the aesthetics of European cathedrals, which brings together two different styles, making it a unique historical monument.
Its windows, which pierce the upper parts of the cathedral, recall a decoration inspired by mosques. The external buttresses located along the roof have pronounced right angles instead of the usual curves.
The cathedral is also famous for its wonderful stained glass windows, the construction of which took longer than expected because of World War II.
In 1956, just after Morocco gained independence, the Cathedral served as a school and then as a cultural center, until it became a place that occasionally hosted exhibitions and cultural events.
The Church of the Sacred Heart, seen in Casablanca as an architectural jewel of the metropolis, still fascinates tourists, who never fail to admire the immaculate whiteness of a building that is not about to fall into decadence.
2024-07-24 10:24:15