Holy Rosary Cathedral bishop’s chair has storied history

Vancouver’s historic metropolitan cathedral is filled with works of art and memories of the past, true to its old foundation and historical associations. 

This is only fitting as with every cathedral, because cathedrals are the seat and mother church of the local diocese. 

Every cathedral has a “throne” (in Latin, cathedra) that is located in its sanctuary, where the local bishop sits, denoting the official seat of a diocesan bishop.

In fact, this is where the word “cathedral” comes from, meaning “seat” or chair. Rich with symbolism, the bishop’s throne is symbolic of his authority. 

The throne is generally fixed and immovable, located only in cathedral churches.

It is customarily positioned usually about halfway down the side of the sanctuary (on the traditional Gospel side of the altar), facing the sanctuary. 

Meanwhile, Vancouver’s downtown cathedral is no ordinary cathedral – it is a metropolitan cathedral, meaning it has an archbishop. 

The metropolitan Archbishop of Vancouver has jurisdiction not only of Vancouver, but also of the suffragan dioceses in the same ecclesiastical province (such as Kamloops, Victoria, etc.). 

The title of metropolitan comes from the ancient custom of calling the bishop of a principal city metropolitanus. 

This custom dates back to the time of the early Church when the first bishops, the Apostles, began their work in important cities such as Jerusalem, Antioch, Rome, Ephesus, Alexandria, etc. 

Very often the territory of these bishops coincided with the civil province and principal cities, establishing an ecclesiastical structure first in busy metropolitan centers. 

The Vancouver cathedral’s throne was created in 1984 by a local Vancouver artist who was a refugee from the Czech Republic, Denis Sedláček.

The creation coincided with the 1983-1984 renovation of the cathedral in preparation for the 12-day papal visit to Canada in September 1984.

The event culminated with the biggest religious event in B.C. history, an outdoor papal Mass at the Abbotsford Airport that drew over 200,000 people. 

Denis worked day and night for about a month to complete the project at his studio in Mission, finished just in time for the papal visit. 

The chair made its debut at the Abbotsford papal Mass on Tuesday, Sept. 18, 1984.

Pope St. John Paul II, canonized a saint in 2014, was the first prelate to sit in the new chair. 

A few days later the chair was transported to the downtown cathedral for permanent use where it remains to this day. 

The acquisition of the chair was organized and paid for by generous members of the Canadian Association of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM). 

Originally, Frank and Terry McCullough, Vancouver residents and members of the SMOM contacted the archbishop’s office to ask if the Order could give a chalice as a commemorative gift for the papal visit.

Weeks later they received a reply: the gift of a throne for the outdoor papal Mass would be a better idea. 

Vancouver resident Harry Dobrzensky, a friend of the McCulloughs and fellow member of the SMOM, was able to hastily organize the project, commissioning the chair and helping to design it.

With little notice, Harry who was a native of the Czech Republic, found the perfect woodcarver, a local artist from his native land, a recent refugee to Canada.

Denis had managed to escape from Communist controlled Czechoslovakia, moving to Vancouver with his wife and son where he lived in Vancouver’s West Side. 

Harry’s connection with Denis came from Harry’s cousin, Prince Karel Schwarzenberg, a Czech political figure who in those years aided a lot of Czech refugees. 

Harry was asked by the political leader to keep an eye on Denis and his family, who were homesick and struggling to adapt to their new home in Canada. 

At the request of the SMOM and with the blessing of Archbishop James Carney, the chair was made in time for the outdoor papal Mass.

Afterwards Denis recalled he had barely slept, working alone, it was the hardest and most rewarding commission he had yet undertaken. 

Some thirty years later a brass plaque was installed on the back of the chair to denote the history, given in a spirit of largesse from local Catholics. The chair remains a piece of living history, a genuine work of art that comes with a story, an important link with the past, present and future.

The finished product is made from solid stained wood that has been fashioned nobly and simply in an abbreviated carpenter Gothic style, an application of the Gothic Revival. 

The top of the chair is mounted with two mini-Gothic steeples and between them at the top is fixed in the middle a golden Maltese cross, the symbol of the SMOM, recently re-gilded. 

The cushions are in blue velvet, in honour of the Blessed Mother, Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary.

On the front of the chair above is carved a Gothic trefoil or three-fold outline, depicted in a circle. 

This is symbolic of the Blessed Trinity, created by three overlapping rings, an ornamental foliation that is in a circle, denoting the infinity of God with no beginning or end. 

On the front of the chair below is carved the familiar Christogram emblem, the “Chi Rho” along with the year it was created, carved in Roman numerals: MCMLXXXIV. 

A few months after the papal visit Denis was commissioned by the rector of the cathedral to create two small stools that would match the throne, customarily used by deacons who assist at the altar. 

Finally, there was a special Mass organized with the archbishop at the cathedral, a small gathering for members of the Order of Malta to formally install the new chair. 

Denis, very grateful and proud of his work, kindly gave to Harry and his wife Aline a small exact replica he made of the chair which is about two feet high. 

This was for their baby son, born in March of that same year. The chair remains in the family’s sitting room.

The papal visit was a true success and it is still warmly remembered today by all those who participated and volunteered.

As a side note, the Pope stayed at the rectory next to the cathedral, for security reasons in a back room on the second floor. 

The room was specially fitted for the occasion with a chapel attached to the bedroom suite, with windows facing into the alleyway. 

The Pope’s meals were prepared at the cathedral rectory by an Italian Chef named Sabatini, who was also one of the main chefs in those years at the Vancouver Club. 

J.P. Sonnen is a travel writer, tour operator and history docent with Orbis Catholic Travel LLC.