The Metropolitan Cathedral of the Most Precious Blood, informally known as Westminster Cathedral, is the largest Catholic church in England and Wales. It is dedicated to the Blood of Jesus Christ and is the seat of the Archbishop of Westminster.
The original site on which the cathedral stands in the City of Westminster was purchased by the Archdiocese of Westminster in 1885, with construction taking place from 1895 to 1903. Designed by John Francis Bentley in a 9th-century Christian neo-Byzantine style, and accordingly made almost entirely of brick, without steel reinforcements, Sir John Betjeman called it "a masterpiece in striped brick and stone" that shows "the good craftsman has no need of steel or concrete."
The cathedral received papal visits from Pope John Paul II on 28 May 1982 and from Pope Benedict XVI on 18 September 2010.
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