If you are a regular viewer of our travel guides, you might have been wondering where exactly have we been? I know, I know, we’re so sorry. We were supposed to have an amazing travel guide for you guys of the Church of Our Blessed Lady of the Sablon in Brussels, Belgium but we’ve been hit with a number of technical constraints involved with our use of computer-generated imagery, or CGI. That’s a shame, and it means we’ll be remaining in London, England and will shift our visit to Brussels for a different time. Today we’ll be heading to the Church of St. Anselm and St. Cecilia. Unlike other churches we’ve been to, such as The Cathedral of Saint Paul in Minnesota, United States and Cologne Cathedral in Cologne, Germany – do check those awesome travel guides out - this church is actually rather easy to miss. It’s obscured by the fact that it stands right besides Holborn station which is served primarily by the Central Line. Let’s head inside, shall we? If you have seen our previous travel guide of Guardian Angels Church, which is also in London, England, you might notice that there is a striking similarity between the Church of St Anselm and St Caecilia and Guardian Angels Church. Well, there’s a reason for that: both were built by the same architect Fredrick A Walters. They also both opened around the same time: Guardian Angels Church in 1903 and the Church of St Anselm and St Cecilia in 1909. The Church of St Anselm and St Cecilia was opened 800 years after the death of St. Anselm. However, the history of the Church of St Anselm and St Cecilia goes all the way back to the Sardinian Chapel which had existed since at least the 18th century. For those who have seen our previous travel guides, the name “Sardinian Chapel” should jog your memory – it was named in our travel guide of St. Peter’s Italian Church, which is also in London. Do check it out. The predecessor to The Church of St Anselm and St Cecilia was known as the Sardinian Chapel from around 1720 through to 1852. In 1853, however, the chapel ceased to be known as the Sardinian Chapel and it was then known as the Church of St. Anselm. St. Anselm was a very influential theologian from Italy in the 11th century. Students across the world know him for his ontological argument in philosophy studies. The ontological argument runs something like this: if God is the greatest thing that someone can think of, and what exists in reality is greater than what exists only in the mind, then it follows that God exists. These lines have been the source of much controversy in philosophy, and are still taught to students to this very day. In 1861, a priest by the name of Father William O’Connor added St. Cecilia as the church’s second patron saint. St. Cecilia lived in the 3rd century and was of noble Roman origin. She was ordered by a prefect to be killed for refusing to renounce her faith. She is the patron saint of music and her feast day is on the 22nd November every year. Both St. Anselm and St Cecilia are commemorated in the church. The statues here depict them, as does the stained glass. The stained glass here commemorates the reopening of the church in March 1994, after it experienced a fire on the roof that forced it to temporarily close in 1992. One of the interesting things you might see as you explore the church is this right here. It’s the arms of the Duke of Savoy, who used to use the church’s predecessor as a chapel within its embassy. This again harks back to the church’s predecessor, the Sardinian Chapel, which was ultimately demolished in 1909. Prior to the Church of St Anselm and St Cecilia, the Sardinian Chapel served as the church for most Catholics in Britain. But if you remember from our previous travel guide of Westminster Cathedral – do check it out if you haven’t – the 19th century was a difficult time to be a Catholic in Britain. Worship was severely restricted and attacks on Catholics were commonplace. That was no less true for the Sardinian Chapel. Indeed, it might even be said, it was probably more true for the Sardinian Chapel than elsewhere. The Chapel was frequently vandalised and destroyed by mobs, not least during the Gordon Riots of 1780, only for it to be constructed again. But by 1909 the chapel was demolished for good as the entire area of Kingsway had to be rebuilt, with the last Mass being on the 6th July 1909. But as with the history of other churches there is an element of luck, or shall we say miracle, that takes us by surprise. Cardinal Vaughan – who appeared in our previous travel guide of Westminster Cathedral – was able to not only gather money to build the present Church of St Anselm and St Cecilia, but to use a surplus towards the Westminster Cathedral Building Fund. Talk about quids in! Looking around, you’ll see other things that hark back to its Sardinian Chapel past. One of them is this painting right here of the Deposition of Christ. It is not exactly clear, however, which version this is. Some sources say it is a copy by Rigaud of Beaumont’s original. Other sources say that it’s a copy by Benjamin West of the original done by the Spanish painter Jusepe de Ribera who was frequently dubbed “Lo Spagnoletto”. If you do have any idea, be sure to leave a comment below! There are a few other things worth pointing out, such as a statue of St Thomas More, once again showing the similarity between Guardian Angels Church and the Church of St Anselm and St Cecilia. There is also an amazing mosaic of St. Joseph. And what would a ChurchMapped episode be without a comment on the cost of votive lights? Votive lights will set you back by about 25p. That’s it for this episode of ChurchMapped! We hope to head off to Brussels soon. In the meantime, we’ll be exploring St. Aloysius’ Church as well as St. Ethelreda’s Church. ChurchMapped is a technology company with a Christian inspiration. Our travel website focuses on churches around the world, and we also have a games, jobs, music and dating website coming up soon. Be sure to give us a subscribe over at YouTube, follow us on Twitter and give us a ‘like’ on Facebook for when we fully launch. Until next time!