This Cathedral of Transfiguration in Markham, Ontario is thirty years in the making but still unfinished. And nobody knows when exactly it’s going to see the light of the day when its congregants will be welcomed back again inside. The last time this Cathedral was opened to the public was in 2009 but its last service was in 2006.
Construction of the cathedral began in early 1984, and the cornerstone and altar stone were blessed by Pope John Paul II during his visit to Canada in September 1984, marking the first time that a Roman Pontiff consecrated a church in North America. The cathedral, which is owned and administered by the Slovak Greek Catholic Church Foundation, was built to serve Slovak Catholics throughout the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), and until 2006, it was the seat of the Slovak Catholic Eparchy of Saints Cyril and Methodius.
Mr. Roman died in 1988 and did not see the cathedral completed. His funeral service was held in the partially completed structure, with 1,600 people in attendance.