The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception

The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception

The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception is the cathedral church of the Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong, situated on Caine Road in Central, Hong Kong. Completed in 1888, it can hold more than 1,000 worshippers. Nowadays, several Masses are held each Sunday, along with midnight Masses on Christmas Eve and Holy Saturday, and weddings for parishioners are also conducted here. In 2002, the cathedral underwent renovation works, and the restoration project was awarded the 2003 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation.

Designed with simplicity and elegance, the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Hong Kong has witnessed the city’s social transformations over the past century. The cathedral features a neo-Gothic architectural style, constructed with brick and stone. It has an asymmetrical cruciform layout, with the right side shorter than the left. The building stretches 82 meters in length, 42 meters in width, and 23.7 meters in height, supported by 38 granite pillars, with a central spire that rises 10 meters high. The main altar is positioned at the center, and the bishop’s throne is located to the southwest of the altar—this is also the origin of the cathedral’s name. Inside the cathedral, there are four smaller chapels: the Chapel of the Sacred Heart, the Chapel of St. Anthony, the Chapel of the Passion, and the Chapel of St. Joseph. The marble altars in three of these chapels were originally from the old St. George’s Church on Wellington Street.

Hong Kong Catholic Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception

Must-visit reason: One of the oldest churches in Hong Kong