
Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Angelo Sodano (C) consecrated Sofia's catholic cathedral on Sunday. Photo by Yuliana Nikolova (Sofia News Agency)
Newly built catholic cathedral "Saint Joseph" opened its doors in Sofia on Sunday.
Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Angelo Sodano consecrated the cathedral himself before over a thousand Catholics from all over Bulgaria and Macedonia.
EU Affairs Minister Meglena Kuneva, many other Catholics from Bulgaria, and foreign diplomats gathered at the new cathedral at Sofia's "Knyaz Boris I" Boulevard. Sofia Mayor Boyko Borisov, Culture Minister Stefan Danailov and Dimitris Kourkoulas, head of the EC Delegation for Bulgaria, also honoured the ceremony.
The cathedral's first stone was sanctified by Pope John Paul II, during his visit to Bulgaria in 2002. The new building rises where the old catholic cathedral in Sofia stood. It was destroyed during the bombing of Sofia in 1944, even before it was completed.