Cathedral of Saint Paul (Minnesota)

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The Cathedral of Saint Paul is a Roman Catholic cathedral in the city of Saint Paul, Minnesota. It is the co-cathedral of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, along with the Basilica of Saint Mary in Minneapolis. One of the most distinctive cathedrals in the United StatesTemplate:According to whom, it sits on Cathedral Hill overlooking downtown Saint Paul and features a distinctive copper-clad dome. It is dedicated to Paul the Apostle, who is also the namesake of the City of Saint Paul. The current building opened in 1915 as the fourth cathedral of the archdiocese to bear this name. On March 25, 2009, it was designated as the National Shrine of the Apostle Paul by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. It is the third-largest Catholic cathedral and sixth-largest church in the United States.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

History

Background

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The first church building in what became the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis was a small log chapel built at the urging of Father Lucien Galtier. He came to the area when the settlement was still known as "Pig's Eye" (after Pierre "Pig's Eye" Parrant). The chapel, measuring Template:Convert by Template:Convert, was dedicated on November 1, 1841. Father Augustin Ravoux later enlarged the structure, and when Joseph Crétin was appointed as the bishop of the newly established Diocese of St. Paul in July 1851, the log chapel became the first cathedral. Crétin immediately started to build a larger church to serve the fast-growing population of St. Paul. The second church building had three stories, with a library, kitchen, and school facilities on the first floor; the church itself on the second floor; and offices and living quarters for Crétin and his staff. The second building still proved to be too small for the needs of the diocese, so he started plans for a third cathedral in 1853. Construction of the building, at the corner of St. Peter and Sixth Streets in Downtown St. Paul, started in 1854 and was completed in 1858, having been delayed by the Panic of 1857 and Crétin's death. The third cathedral was built of stone, measured Template:Convert long and Template:Convert wide, but had practically no ornamentation in an effort to cut costs. Thomas Grace was the bishop at the time the cathedral was completed.<ref name="Lathrop">Template:Cite book</ref> The third cathedral rapidly became outdated with the rapid growth of Catholics in the area.<ref name=Reardon/>Template:Rp

Planning

File:Kittson House at St. Paul, Minnesota.gif
The Kittson mansion, demolished to make way for the cathedral

When the Diocese of Saint Paul was elevated to an archiepiscopal see in 1888, the necessity for a new cathedral became all the more apparent. A search began for a location for a new cathedral, outside of the business district of downtown St. Paul where the third cathedral resides. There was a desire for the cathedral to be built closer to Minneapolis, with sites being considered near the College of Saint Thomas, the Midway neighborhood, and at the intersection of Summit Avenue and Victoria Street.Template:Efn On April 9, 1904, a property on the brow of St. Anthony Hill was purchased for $52,500 Template:USDCY. The location was occupied by the deteriorating mansion of entrepreneur Norman Kittson.<ref name=Reardon>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp The site was too small for the planned edifice, and so land south of Summit Avenue was purchased, requiring the movement of the street by 90 feet.<ref name=Reardon/>Template:Rp

Fundraising began immediately, with pledges made by March 1906 totaling $435,200 Template:USDCY. Fundraising efforts included a picnic on the Minnesota State Fair grounds.<ref name=Reardon/>Template:Rp

File:Altar, The Cathedral of Saint Paul, Selby Avenue and Summit Avenue, Cathedral Hill, Saint Paul, MN - 51706966916.jpg
Interior of the cathedral

Architect

At John Ireland's direction, the archdiocese commissioned well-known French Beaux-Arts architect Emmanuel Louis Masqueray, who was also the chief architect of the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis.<ref name="Lathrop"/><ref name=Reardon/>Template:Rp

Construction

The cornerstone for the cathedral was laid on June 2, 1907. Within the cornerstone was placed a copper time capsule box containing contemporary newspapers, souvenirs, and a parchment written on in Latin describing the details of the ceremony.<ref name=Reardon/>Template:Rp Pope Pius X and President Theodore Roosevelt sent congratulatory telegrams which were read aloud, and Mayor Robert A. Smith, Governor John Albert Johnson, and Senator Moses E. Clapp read speeches. The First Artillery of the Minnesota National Guard fired a salute, followed by the singing of the Te Deum by seminarians.<ref name=Reardon/>Template:Rp

Dedication and consecration

The first Mass in the cathedral was held on March 15, 1915, Palm Sunday. While yet unfinished, the cathedral hosted over 2,500 people for the 6Template:Nbspa.m. Mass celebrated by Archbishop Ireland.<ref name=Reardon/>Template:Rp The doors to the cathedral had been installed only the day before. Ornamentation was bare; there were no stained-glass windows, no balcachin, and no statues. Nonetheless, Masses were held on the hour from 6Template:Nbspa.m. to 10Template:Nbspa.m. and some 18,000 total were estimated to have attended that day.<ref name=Zyskowski/> Ireland wept as he saw the crowds who attended.<ref name=Walsh>Template:Cite news</ref> At the 10Template:Nbspa.m., which auxiliary bishop John Jeremiah Lawler celebrated, Ireland preached and called the new building a "a great, a noble edifice" and "supreme monument" to the faith of the people who had donated to build it.<ref name=Zyskowski>Template:Cite news</ref> A formal dedication took place several weeks later on April 11.<ref name=Reardon/>Template:Rp

The building was not considered substantially complete, and thus eligible for solemn consecration, until 1958.<ref name="nris"/> Archbishop William O. Brady consecrated the building on October 14, 1958, at 1:30Template:Nbspp.m., followed by a solemn high Mass at 5:15Template:Nbspp.m.<ref name=Blodgett>Template:Cite news</ref> Bishop Francis J. Schenk, at the time ordinary of the Diocese of Crookston and one-time rector of the cathedral, preached the sermon.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The unconventional Tuesday date was chosen as there was a reunion the following day at the nearby Saint Paul Seminary.<ref name=Blodgett/>

File:Beaux-Arts - Saint Paul, MN - Cathedral of Saint Paul (1.1).jpg
The original copper roof with green patina, replaced in 2002

Renovation

In 2001, construction began to completely replace the 60,000-square-foot copper roof to make it more weather-resistant. Forty-two miles of tuck pointing on the cathedral granite was done at the same time, as well as sand-blasting to clean the exterior.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Water leaks had been threatening interior art. The 85-year-old roof had only been projected to last 50 years.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The project was completed in 2002, at a cost of $32 million.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The previously green patina became a brown.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Structure

Masqueray's open design allows visitors unobstructed views of the altar and pulpit. Masqueray died in 1917, having completed only a few designs for the interior, which included three of the cathedral's major chapels: Saint Peter's, Saint Joseph's and the Blessed Virgin Mary's.<ref name=History>History, Cathedral of Saint Paul.</ref>

The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. It is also a contributing property to the Historic Hill District.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="nris"/>

File:Floor Plan of the Cathedral of Saint Paul, Minnesota (cropped).jpg
A early floor plan of the cathedral from 1908

Design

The cathedral is built in a "Classical Renaissance" architectural style, and is in a Greek Cross design.<ref name=Reardon/>Template:Rp The dome of the cathedral is Template:Convert in diameter and Template:Convert high. Warm-colored paint and gold leaf were added during a major renovation of the dome in the 1950s. The exterior walls of the cathedral are Rockville granite from St. Cloud, Minnesota (from the Clark quarry<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>). The interior walls are American Travertine from Mankato, Minnesota. The interior columns are made of several types of marble.

The interior was designed to make visitors feel as if they are in a boat, with the Latin word for the area where the congregation sits, nave, meaning "boat"; a sunburst chandelier hangs overhead, and waves are carved into the walls and the pews.<ref name=Boyle>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp

The interior dome and interior mosaics of the four cardinal virtues beneath the dome were created by Joseph Capecchi, a Florentine sculptor. The designs for the mosaics were sent to Italy to be crafted by Template:Ill.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

File:Cathedral of Saint Paul 06.jpg
The east façade

Exterior façade

Carved in granite above the main doors and primary rose window of the cathedral are Christ and the eleven apostles, with the words "Euntes docete omnes gentes", or "Go, therefore, to all nations" from Matthew 28. On either side of the frieze are carved figures of St. Peter and St. Paul. Beneath the rose window are two angels bearing the words "Erat lux vera quae illuminat omnem hominem venientem in hunc mundum," or "He was the true light that enlightens every man who comes into this world" from John 1:9.<ref name=Boyle/>Template:Rp

File:Cathedral of Saint Paul interior 39.jpg
The Temperance mosaic

Art

The interior is illuminated by twenty-four stained glass windows featuring angelic choirs. Three rose windows in the transepts were designed by Charles Connick.<ref name="nris"/>

Heroic size marble statues of the four evangelists, sculpted by John Angel, are set into the niches of the piers in the four corners of the church. This placement was not coincidental, according to Msgr. Lawrence Ryan (Historical Sketch of the Cathedral of St. Paul, 1904–1937), for as the piers hold up the church of stone, so the Word recorded by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John sustains that Church not made by human hands. Each statue rises to a height of 11'6" and weighs eight tons. The life of Saint Paul is honored by a bronze baldachin, as well as massive bronze Te Deum and Magnificat grilles.<ref name=Ernster/>

Chapels

The cathedral also has six chapels dedicated to the patron saints of the European ethnic groups that settled the area around the city: St. Anthony for the Italians, St. John the Baptist for the French Canadians, St. Patrick for the Irish, St. Boniface for the Germans, Saints Cyril and Methodius for the Slavs; and St. Therese of Lisieux for the missionaries.<ref name=Ernster>Template:Cite news</ref> Each shrine contains a circular slab of marble from the saint's home country.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The chapel to the Little Flower has incorporated into its gospel-side wall small stone from the Rouen Castle where St. Joan of Arc was imprisoned.<ref name=Reardon/>Template:Rp There are also chapels dedicated to the Sacred Heart, to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and to Saint Joseph, her husband, as well as to Saint Peter.

File:Organ and Rose Window, The Cathedral of Saint Paul, Selby Avenue and Summit Avenue, Cathedral Hill, Saint Paul, MN (cropped).jpg
Rear organ case

Organs

An E. M. Skinner organ was installed above the entrance to the sacristy, behind the behind the sanctuary, in 1927. An Æolian-Skinner organ was installed in the choir loft gallery in 1963.<ref name=Towalski>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=Duchschere>Template:Cite news</ref> The organs have twin consoles, which can be used to play either organ or both at the same time.<ref name=Duchschere/>

A restoration of the sanctuary organ by Quimby Pipe Organs took place in 2013 In conjunction with the restoration, a new organ case for the gallery organ was completed by architect Duncan G Stroik.<ref name=Towalski/> The design was based on a blueprint from the original design of the cathedral by Emmanuel Masqueray.<ref name=Towalski-2/> The hand-carved walnut organ case preserves the view of the cathedral's rose window.<ref name=Olson/> Human-sized carved angels stand on both sides of the organ case and a statue of Saint Cecilia, patron saint of music, stands on top of the central organ case dome, directly below the rose window.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=Towalski/> In commemoration of the restoration, Olivier Latry of Notre-Dame de Paris performed at the cathedral on October 24, 2013.<ref name=Towalski-2>Template:Cite news</ref> The project cost $3.4 million.<ref name=Duchschere/><ref name=Olson>Template:Cite news</ref>

Bells

For the first seventy years of the cathedral's operations, a small bell from the previous cathedral had been the only bell. Under the direction of Ambrose Hayden, five new bronze bells were installed in the cathedral towers in 1986, to ring in time for Christmas Eve midnight Mass. The $140,000 Template:USDCY cost was paid for by parishioners. The bells were cast in France by Fonderie Paccard.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Notable events

Eugenio Cardinal Pacelli, who would become Pope Pius XII in 1939, visited the United States in October 1936, with one of his stops being in St. Paul. Pacelli, then the papal secretary of state, celebrated 7:45Template:Nbspa.m. Mass on October 27 at the cathedral.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> A bronze plaque commemorating the visit was installed in 1946.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

As part of a "whirlwind", 21-hour tour of Minnesota,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> President John F. Kennedy attended the 11 o'clock Mass at the Cathedral on October 7, 1962.<ref name=Letofsky/> A special phone line with direct service to the White House was installed for the occasion.<ref name=Mazie/> Around 8,000 people crowded in and around the cathedral on the rainy day, with 6,000 inside the building and another 2,000 outside.<ref name=Letofsky>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=Mazie/> Many attendees sat through 8Template:Nbspa.m., 9Template:Nbspa.m., and 10Template:Nbspa.m. Masses to see Kennedy. Bishop Gerald Francis O'Keefe preached on the importance of the upcoming Second Vatican Council.<ref name=Mazie>Template:Cite news</ref> A plaque commemorates the pew where Kennedy sat.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In 1974, a vandal set fire to the basement of the cathedral, causing smoke damage in the church.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> During a 1974 Christmas midnight Mass celebrated by Msgr. Ambrose Hayden, two streakers ran through the cathedral.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

On March 25, 2009, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops declared the Cathedral of Saint Paul to be a National Shrine to the Apostle Paul – the first in Minnesota and the only one in North America dedicated to the Apostle Paul.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> A stone relic from the tomb of St. Paul was given to the cathedral in 2012.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite document</ref>

After the killing of Philando Castile, Castile's family, though Baptist, requested that his funeral be able to be held at the cathedral.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Archbishop Bernard Hebda granted the request, and on July 14, 2016, a funeral service for Philando Castile took place at the cathedral, attended by thousands of mourners.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

For seven years, the cathedral hosted the Red Bull Crashed Ice competition.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The 500-yard, 12-story ramp brought up to 120,000 spectators to the neighborhood to watch the race skating event.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=Sawyer>Template:Cite news</ref> Red Bull paid an undisclosed, but "generous" donation to the cathedral for hosting the event.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> After the 2018 season, Red Bull chose to move the event to Japan, Finland and Boston.<ref name=Sawyer/>

Rectors

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See also

Notes

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References

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