Cathedral of Saint Stephen King of Hungary

The Cathedral of Saint Stephen King of Hungary is the de jure mother church of the equally de jure Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Persenburg and the intended seat of the also de jure Archbishop of Persenburg, Joseph Cardinal Assis. The current Stripped Classicist form of the cathedral, seen today in the imperial capital of Karnia-Ruthenia, was largely initiated by the Hungarian community of Greater Persenburg by early 1919 as a tiny chapel, reformed two times before its current form, that was consecrated in 1939. The most important religious building in Persenburg, the Cathedral has borne witness to many important events in Karno-Ruthenian history and has become one of the city's most recognizable icons.

History
By the end of 1910's, Persenburg, at that time Vila Anastácio had become an important centre of Hungarian immigrants, and the existing church, Our Lady of Lapa, no longer met the neighborhood's religious needs. In 1919, a small chapel dedicated to St. Stephen King of Hungary was built. For the next ten years, it was enlarged until 1929, when a new building was established to be the church not only for Vila Anastácio, but also for the whole western region of Lapa. It was the first Hungarian Church built in South Hemisphere.

Exterior
The church was dedicated to St. Stephen King of Hungary, also the patron of the Empire, and construction was concluded on 1939. Built of brick and mortar, the recent restoration projects have returned some portions of the building to their original pearl color in its exterior. In its main facade, images of each the Twelve Apostles made of colored tiles and separated by a cross also made of brown tiles occupy most of the wall.

Tower
Standing at 15 meters tall, St. Stephen's Cathedral's tower is its highest point and a dominant feature of the Persenburg skyline, and for more then 50 years, the highest point of all neighborhood. At the tip of the tower stands a metal cross.

Bell
With just one bell with more than 60 kilograms and a diameter of 1.5 metres, it sounds every day at noon and at six in the afternoon, few special occasions each year, like very solemn masses of Christmas and New Year. Since 1970's, the bell is electrically operated.

Interior
The interior part of the church contains 8 altars, 2 pulpits, 1 organ and the choir and a sacristy. The nave, the central body of the church running from the west end to the transept, is the section where ordinary parishioners worship. It occupies almost the entirety of the length of the church, and has exceptional length and unity of style. The altars depicts, clockwise, from left to right: Saint Anthony of Padua, Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, Saint Joseph, Mary, Mother of Jesus, Our Lady of Aparecida and Saint Stephen King of Hungary.



Conservation and restoration
Preservation and repair of the fabric has been a continuous process at St. Stephen's Cathedral since its original construction in 1939. The porous facade is subject to weathering and cause it to crack faster, damaging painting and stucco. The most visible and recent repair project was a multi-year renovation of the roof and renovation of the painting, payed with donations from the community, from 2017 to 2020.

Notable people and events
The cathedral has hosted the weddings and other events of many notable figures, like the wedding of Count and Countess von Goëtzën during the 1960's, the solemn mass for the funeral of Countess Theresa Veronika von Goëtzën in 1996, the christening of Oscar I in 1997 and many religious events of the imperial capital.

Popular culture
The Cathedral, as a major social point of interest of the imperial capital, holds its importance in several events in the Imperial and Royal Court, and was already mentioned several times in media, and even in fiction, like the ucronic text depicting the visit of the representatives of the Conference of Santiago during the first anniversary of the organization.