The Wedding Church at Cana is a religious building of the Catholic Church located in the central part of the town of Kafr Kanna (Cana), in Lower Galilee, located in northern Israel. Its name commemorates the event of the Wedding at Cana from the Gospel of John, thought by some Christians to have taken place on the site, during which Jesus performed his first miracle, by turning water into wine.
The Wedding at Cana
The description of the “wedding at Cana” event takes place after the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist, the recruitment of some of Jesus’ disciples, and his meeting with Nathaniel (who is presumed to be St. Bartholomew), in which he assures him that he will witness great miracles.
According to the Gospel of John, Jesus was at a wedding in Cana with his disciples (John 2–11). Jesus’ mother (unnamed in the Gospel of John) told Jesus, “They have no wine,” and Jesus replied, “Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come.” His mother then said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” (John 2:3–5).
Jesus ordered the servants to fill containers with water and to draw out some and take it to the chief steward (waiter). After tasting it, without knowing where it came from, the steward remarked to the bridegroom that he had departed from the custom of serving the best wine first by serving it last (John 2:6–10). John adds that: “Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and it revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him”.
This is the first miracle attributed to Jesus in the Gospel of John, although none of the synoptic Gospels mentions the wedding at Cana. It is considered to have symbolic importance as the first of the seven signs in the Gospel of John by which Jesus’ divine status is attested, and around which the gospel is structured. Jesus will later return to Cana, where John 4:46–54 describes him healing a Capernaum official’s young son.
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The Biblical Cana
The exact location of “Cana in Galilee” has been subject to debate among scholars. Modern scholars maintain that since the Gospel of John was addressed to Jewish Christians of the time, it is unlikely that the evangelist would mention a place that did not exist.
In the Middle Ages, the Christian tradition identified Kana in Horbat Kana, located on a 220-meter-high spur, east of Nahal Yodfat and Mount Atzmon. The site contains the remains of a church from the Crusader period, which was probably built over Byzantine remains, as well as tombs and a columbarium.
According to the Catholic Encyclopedia of 1914, a tradition dating back to the 8th century identifies Cana with the modern town of Kafr Kanna, in Galilee, which is only 7 kilometers (4.3 Miles) from Nazareth. However, Dominican scholar Jerome Murphy-O’Connor cautions that Cana is a very common name, with no known text offering any clue as to which of the dozen towns going by the name would be the correct one, and calls the common choice of Kafr Kanna near Nazareth “probably just a pious guess”.
Archaeological research has revealed at the site in the village of Kanna the remains of a private house that housed the site between the 1st and 4th centuries. In the 4th century, a synagogue was built on the site and a cistern was dug in the center of its courtyard.
During the 5th century, the synagogue was destroyed and on its eastern side a Byzantine tomb and an apse were erected, the remains of which are visible in the crypt of the church. The structure of the tomb was discovered to be partially destroyed and no human remains were found in it. Another structure was erected on the site around the 14th century, and it was described by travelers who visited the place during the 17th century as a church destroyed by the Muslims.
The Franciscans began the process of acquiring the land in 1641 but the process was not fully completed until 1879 with the help of the Syrian Governor. In the same year, a chapel was erected on the site and it was expanded in 1881 by Brother Aegidius Geissler, who served as the first clergyman of the church quarter in the village. In 1901 Geissler erected the facade of the present structure, and in 1906 the altar of the church was consecrated by the Archbishop of Bergamo, in the presence of his secretary Angelo Roncalli (later Pope John XXIII).
The Wedding Church
The Facade
The stone facade has a Romanesque character and is reminiscent of the style of construction in medieval Europe. On the ground floor, a foyer protruding from the front line and a roof leaning on four pillars. The two middle columns are ancient, while the two outer ones are modern imitations. It is possible that the ancient pillars belonged to the synagogue that operated on the site in the 5th century.
Three arches lead to the foyer at the front, and on each of its sides is another arch. The front door of the church is below the middle arch, slightly larger than the other two. The roof of the foyer serves as the second-floor balcony and it is surrounded by a stylish railing. Three arches in the center of the second floor continue the architectural trend of the ground floor, and on the central arch, the larger one, stands a statue of Christ.
In two corners of the building, there are two towers bearing onion-shaped domes. These domes reflect Geissler’s origins in Austria. Between the two towers is a gable bearing the statue of the Virgin Mary and on either side of it is an angel. The statue of Mary stands above the statue of Jesus due to her more central role in the event of the miracle.
The Church Hall
An internal narthex bearing a gallery floor leads to the church hall. In the narthex, there is a statue of Anthony of Padua and Saint Joseph, each holding in his hands the baby Jesus. The church hall is narrow and long, its walls are lined with stone, and its ceiling is made in the form of a smooth barrel vault. The space ends on its eastern side with three apices in the shape of a clover, and above their meeting point is a dome with eight windows. The dome is painted blue and at the top of it is a dove representing the Holy Spirit.
On the main altar are six modern stone jars commemorating the six jars mentioned in the miracle event, and above it is a painting of the event depicting the wedding, with the dining table of Jesus and his mother and open background. The painting is located under a gable that stands on four pillars in Corinthian style. On either side of the apse stand the statues of Jesus and our Lady of Fátima all dressed in white.
The Crypt
Access to the crypt is done through two doors facing each other in the middle of the modern church hall. The crypt extends south and north of the church grounds. Remains of the apse and the Byzantine tomb structure can be seen in its northern part. On the southern side of the crypt are the remains of the early chapel that housed the site until the 4th century.
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The Wedding Church Location
The Wedding Church is located in Kafr Kanna, an Arab town in Galilee, part of the Northern District of Israel. In 2019 it had a population of 22,751, mainly Muslims and Christians.
