Westminster Cathedral - the main Catholic church in England and Wales. For centuries Catholics in Protestant countries endured great trials, but today the neo-Byzantine cathedral with a bell tower, Campanile devyanostometrovoy stands in the heart of London, on Victoria Street in the district of Westminster.

According to British standards Cathedral young. Land under him Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Manning acquired in 1884, was designed by architect John Francis Bentley began in 1895. For Bentley's Cathedral became the main business of life, developing the project, an elderly master even went to Italy to study the Byzantine Basilica of San Marco in Venice. The architect died a year before construction is completed. Cathedral opened its doors in 1903, but was only consecrated in 1910.

The building is huge: it takes more than five thousand square meters, the internal height of the main dome - more than 33 meters. Domes are formed of concrete walls and buttresses powerful - red brick. John Bentley died before he could leave projects and sketches of interior decoration of the temple. In the future, the history of the cathedral was such that in its interior the main place was taken by a mosaic, a phenomenon very rare for Britain. In the chapel of Our Lady of experienced artist Gertrude Martin Anning Bell has created a mosaic of "Christ in Glory" above the main entrance.

Attracted the attention of Russian mosaic masters Boris Anrep depicting the first miracle at Cana, the sacrifice of Abel, Abraham's hospitality, gathering manna in the wilderness. Anrep was a lover of Anna Akhmatova, and in 1917 had warned her, leaving England: "There will be the same as it was in France during the Great Revolution, will be worse." It is about him the famous poem "I heard the voice. He called consoling ... ". Akhmatova remained in Russia on the mountain and harassment. Anrep achieved recognition in England and captured the image of the one that left, in the mosaic "Compassion" in the National Gallery. The woman with the characteristic "Akhmatova" fringe of the city lies in ruins (perhaps Leningrad), it comes down to defending her angel.

Made many masters finish "mother of Catholic churches" Britain is striking - here sparkle-encrusted marble, pearls, gold, lapis lazuli. Tourists also can take the elevator to the top of the campanile, which offers wonderful views of the nearby Palace of Westminster, a memorial to Queen Victoria, Trafalgar Square.

In 1977, Westminster Cathedral attended by Queen Elizabeth II - it was the first visit of a British monarch in the Catholic Church of England since the Reformation. In 1995, the queen here for the first time took part in the Catholic liturgy.