St. Mary's Cathedral: A Secret Church in Downtown Joburg

2Summers | 9 May 2024
johannesburg architecture apartheid history churches tours

Every time I think I’ve visited all the historic churches in downtown Joburg, another one pops out of the woodwork. My latest “discovery” is the spectacular Cathedral of St. Mary the Virgin, or St. Mary’s Cathedral, on Wanderers Street in the Joburg CBD.

Looking down on the central section of St. Mary’s Cathedral in downtown Joburg
Looking down from the gallery in St. Mary’s Cathedral, an enormous Anglican cathedral with seating for more than 2,000 people.
Sketch of St, Mary’s Cathedral
Sketch of St. Mary’s by Thorsten, a.k.a. @theThinking_Hand, who "discovered" St. Mary’s with me.

I put the word “discovered” in quotes because I really mean “discovered by me”. St. Mary’s Cathedral is not actually a secret; it’s enormous, as you can see, and extremely historic and culturally significant.

St. Mary’s Cathedral was built between 1926 and 1929, although the congregation was established far earlier in 1887. Like St. Alban’s Cathedral downtown and Christ the King Anglican Church in Sophiatown, St. Mary’s was designed by architect Frank Fleming (who worked with Herbert Baker). St. Mary’s was one of downtown Joburg’s first racially integrated churches and played a big role in the struggle against apartheid. Desmond Tutu, who was appointed the first Black dean of the cathedral in 1975, considered St. Mary’s his spiritual home. Today St. Mary’s is still meticulously maintained and has a small yet active congregation.

However, due to its location in one of the most intimidating sections of downtown Joburg, I had never seen nor heard of St. Mary’s until I participated in a recent tour of the church by the Johannesburg Heritage Foundation.

Outside St. Mary’s Cathedral
St. Mary’s is in a densely populated, high-traffic area across from Park Station, Joburg’s biggest transport hub. The scene outside is chaotic, to put it mildly. The high-rise building in the background, Darragh House, is an apartment building and retail center that is also owned by the church.
Outisde St. Mary’s
Another look at the outside of the church.

Archbishop Tutu, who died in December 2021 at the age of 90, had hoped to have his funeral at St. Mary’s Cathedral and be buried there. Sadly, due to the decline of the area around St. Mary’s, Tutu’s funeral and burial took place at St. George’s Cathedral in Cape Town.

Our Tour of St. Mary’s Cathedral

Our tour took place the day after Freedom Day, the public holiday marking South Africa’s first democratic elections and the 30th anniversary of democracy in South Africa. The group met in front of Park Station and walked through the busy station, back out across De Villiers Street to the cathedral. We entered the church through the unobtrusive doors at the back, which double as an entrance to Darragh House.

Entrance to St. Mary’s Cathedral and Darragh House
Darragh House is named for John Darragh, the first rector of St. Mary’s.

Once inside, I was awestruck by the sudden transition from dense, chaotic city madness to soaring, silent cathedral.

The chancel (front section) of the church. I was enthralled by the stained-glass windows and the rood – an almost life-sized sculpture of Christ’s crucifixion – hanging from the ceiling.
Closeup of the rood in St. Mary’s
A closer look at the rood.
Looking back at the main entrance to St. Mary’s
Looking back toward the main entrance and upstairs galleries.
All Souls Chapel in St. Mary’s
The cathedral’s smaller All Souls Chapel, which honors South Africans killed during World War I.
Pretty shadows in a church passage
Pretty shadows in a church passage.
Architect Kgao Mashego
Joburg architect Kgao Mashego, one of our guides for the tour, gives us some background on the church. Kgao recently worked on an amazing revitalization plan for the area around St. Mary’s, which he is extremely passionate about, but that plan has now been indefinitely shelved. (If you know anything about the current state of the Johannesburg City government, you’ll understand why. It’s very sad but I’ll try to focus on the positives.)

The highlight of our visit was a brief organ recital by Sidney Place, who has been the St. Mary’s organist for the past 31 years.

Sidney Place, organist at St. Mary’s
Sidney Place gives us a brief talk about the organ before his performance.
Organ at St. Mary’s
Not sure why I photographed the huge organ pipes from such a weird angle. Anyway, they are impressive – there are more than 4,800 pipes (don’t ask me how this is even possible) and the tallest pipe is about 10 meters (32 feet) tall.
Sidney Place playing the organ
I’ve never looked this closely at a church organ before. It’s a crazy instrument and the performance was wonderful – I wish my pictures could play music.
Organ knobs
The organ has many, many knobs with charming yet inscrutable names.

Thank you to the Johannesburg Heritage Foundation (JHF) for introducing me to yet another hidden (in plain sight) downtown Joburg church. If you’re not a JHF member yet, I highly recommend becoming one – they are doing essential work to preserve the fragile heritage of this city. Also becoming a member gives you a discount on JHF tours.

Church sketch by @TheThinking_Hand
One last church sketch by @TheThinking_Hand.