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St. Joseph Cathedral (Columbus, Ohio)

St. Joseph Cathedral is a Catholic cathedral located in Columbus, Ohio, United States which serves as the seat of the Diocese of Columbus.[3] The church building, completed in 1878, is located on Broad Street in Downtown Columbus.

History

The cathedral c. 1900-10

St. Joseph Parish

St. Joseph Parish, named after Saint Joseph, was founded by members of the nearby churches of St. Patrick and Holy Cross Church in 1866 to alleviate overcrowding in both congregations. Its pastor, the Rev. Edward M. Fitzgerald, began to plan for the church, raised money, formed a building committee and secured property at the corner of Broad and Fifth streets for $13,500.[1] The committee chose name St. Joseph for the new church, and selected Michael Harding as architect. Contractor John McCabe began construction June 6, 1866 with John Stoddard engaged as mason.[4] Auxiliary Bishop Sylvester H. Rosecrans of Cincinnati laid the cornerstone of what was then a brick structure on November 11, 1866.[5]

St. Joseph Cathedral

In 1867, Father Fitzgerald was appointed Bishop of Little Rock and Rosecrans succeeded him as pastor of St. Patrick's. On March 3, 1868, Pope Pius IX established the Diocese of Columbus and named Rosecrans as its first bishop.[6] The still under-construction St. Joseph was named its cathedral, and constuction of what had initially been proposed as a brick building was temporarily halted, modifications to the existing foundations made, and plans for the present stone structure were introduced.[4][5]

Rosecrans named Robert T. Brookes to succeed Harding as architect and altered the original design of a brick structure to stone, specifically boasted ashlar quarried from Licking and Fairfield counties to befit its elevated status as a cathedral.[4] The new plans also called for a 312-foot-tall belltower with three clock faces and chimes.[5] Retired General William Rosecrans, older brother of the bishop, came to Columbus to assist with some of the design plans in the summer of 1870.[1]

Consecration

Rosecrans celebrated the first Mass in the unfinished cathedral on Christmas 1872. Soon after, Cardinal John McCloskey of New York donated marble, from the same quarry used in the construction of St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York, to construct a high altar and side altars.[1] In 1873, parish purchased the home of Joseph Gundersheimer, across Broad Street between Sixth and Seventh Streets, to house the clergy. It served until the diocese could construct a rectory attached to the cathedral.[4]

In February of that same year, John Mangan and Annie Clifford were married in the Cathedral. Their wedding was the first to take place in the church.[7]

Interior of the cathedral following its completion in 1878 and before the renovation of 1914.

Even though interior decoration of the building was incomplete, Rosecrans consecrated it on October 20, 1878. The final cost was $218,000. Rosecrans died the following day. He was interred directly beneath the main altar.[1]

Renovations

In 1887, John Ambrose Watterson purchased the former home of William G. Deshler, built in 1848, to serve as a rectory for the cathedral.[8]

Bishop James Hartley oversaw the addition of a copper roof in addition to new pews, sanctuary furniture, and pillars in 1913, at a cost of around $100,000.[4] A decade later, a new E.M. Skinner organ replaced the original 1888 organ.[5]

In 1949, Bishop Michael Ready remodeled the sanctuary and installed the present baldachin, along with a new altar of botticino marble with onyx pillars. These renovations also added a Blessed Sacrament chapel, Marian chapel, and Terce chapel dedicated to St. Joseph. These changes to the Cathedral building were completed in 1953.[9] He also razed the Deshler home and constructed the current bishop's residence and diocesan chancery building where it stood.[5][8]

John Carberry re-positioned the altar to allow for versus populum celebration of the Mass in 1965, and two years later the undercroft was excavated to create a parish hall with a kitchen, meeting rooms, and space for a bookstore. More extensive remodeling of the sanctuary began in 1978.[5]

In 1992, the exterior of the Cathedral was cleaned and restored, returning the sandstone to its original color. In 2000, the baldachino and Marian shrine were restored and re-plated. Polish artist Grzegorz Kucharski painted the depictions of the Holy Family that were hung in the apse in 2002, the same year the current organ was installed.[5]

The Cathedral interior before the renovations of 1978.

The cathedral held a Respect Life Mass on January 22, 2021, to commemorate the 48th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision, and the liturgy was disrupted by about 8 pro-abortion protestors. Some held signs calling for the repeal of the Hyde Amendment. Representatives from the police and the church escorted the protestors outside. Robert J. Brennan issued a statement, thanking law enforcement and church officials, and the faithful who were present in prayer, saying they reflect "joy, hope, and mercy that marks our pro-life witness."[10]

In 2023, State Automobile Mutual Insurance Company donated its life-size Nativity scene to the Museum of Catholic Art and History, which has hosted the display in the following years. [11][12][13] That same year, the parish territory of Holy Cross Church was merged into that of the Cathedral, with Holy Cross remaining open as a worship site.[14][15]

Saint Joseph Cathedral School

The Kelley house, built in 1839, housed the Cathedral School from 1907 to 1968.

Following the instructions of the Third Plenary Council of Baltimore, the parishoners of the territory of the Cathedral parish began to work to found a parochial school in 1907. They acquired the Alfred Kelley mansion, remodelling it in 1907. The modified building had 12 classrooms and opened in September of 1907. The Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, who also operated nearby Saint Joseph Academy, taught in the school. Enrollment never substantially increased, despite the opening of a Latin School for young boys hoping to enter Saint Charles Seminary from 1941 to 1944. In May of 1958, Clarence Issenmann annouced the consolidation of the Cathedral school and its merger into nearby Holy Cross.[16] Diocesan officials stated that the combination of the two institutions was due to the redevelopment of Downtown Columbus along with population shifts to the suburbs.[17] The Kelley Mansion was removed from the site in 1961 and replaced by the Christopher Inn.[18] The Christoper Inn, in turn, was demolished in 1988, and the site is now a parking lot.[19]

Architecture

St. Joseph Cathedral was designed in the Gothic Revival style and built of ashlar stone quarried in Licking and Fairfield counties. The exterior dimensions of the building are 185 by 92 feet (56 m × 28 m) with walls 3 feet (0.91 m) thick. The Broad Street (south) façade of the cathedral houses three entrances and was to be framed by two towers. The southwest tower was to rise to a height of 312 feet (95 m) and contain three clock faces and a chime of ten bells. while the southeast tower was to reach a height of 200 feet (61 m).[1]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Gorski, Deacon James. "Parish History". Saint Joseph Cathedral. Archived from the original on 2016-03-09. Retrieved 2016-03-08.
  2. ^ St. Joseph Cathedral (16 July 2023). "The Roman Catholic Parish of Saint Joseph Cathedral and Holy Cross Church, Bulletin" (PDF). The Roman Catholic Parish of Saint Joseph Cathedral and Holy Cross Church. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 July 2023. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
  3. ^ "St. Joseph Cathedral". GCatholic. Archived from the original on 2014-01-12. Retrieved 2011-09-21.
  4. ^ a b c d e Hartley, Joseph (1918). Diocese of Columbus : the history of fifty years, 1868-1918. Catholic Diocese of Columbus. pp. 144–158.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g "125th Anniversary of the Dedication of Saint Joseph Cathedral". digital-collections.columbuslibrary.org. Retrieved 2025-03-25.
  6. ^ "Diocese of Columbus". Catholic-Hierarchy. Archived from the original on 2011-09-06. Retrieved 2011-09-21.
  7. ^ Mattingly, Herman (November 1978). "Cathedral's First Nuptial Mass" (PDF). Barquilla de Santa Maria.
  8. ^ a b "Bishop's Residence at St. Joseph's Cathedral / 579H3321919". digital-collections.columbuslibrary.org. Retrieved 2025-03-25.
  9. ^ "Will Consecrate Four Cathedral Altars With Solemn Rites, Apr. 22". The Catholic Times of Columbus. 17 April 1953.
  10. ^ Jones, Kevin. "Pro-abortion protestors disrupt pro-life Mass at Ohio cathedral". Catholic News Agency. Archived from the original on 2021-01-23. Retrieved 2021-01-24.
  11. ^ Bean, Doug (20 December 2020). "Christmas display a touchstone in uncertain times". Catholic Times of Columbus. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  12. ^ The Catholic Times (1 August 2023). "State Auto donates historic Nativity to diocese's Catholic museum for display at Cathedral". The Catholic Times of Columbus. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  13. ^ WSYX Staff (2023-08-01). "Christmas Corner Nativity display is on the move". WSYX. Retrieved 2023-08-01.
  14. ^ "Diocese announces suppression of St. Ladislas, Corpus Christi, Holy Cross parishes". Catholic Times of Columbus. Archived from the original on 18 April 2023. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  15. ^ "March 26 2023 Bulletin Holy Cross Church" (PDF). Holy Cross Catholic Church, Columbus. 26 March 2023. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 April 2023. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  16. ^ Mattingly, Herman (April 1986). "Saint Joseph Cathedral School" (PDF). Barquilla de Santa Maria.
  17. ^ "Shift to Suburbs Shrinks Student Body Merge Two Downtown Schools". The Catholic Times of Columbus. 9 May 1958. p. 1.
  18. ^ Finneran, Dennis (21 April 1961). "Build Auto Hotel on Cathedral School Location". The Catholic Times of Columbus. p. 1.
  19. ^ Perenic, Barbara J. ""Mad Men" style Christopher Inn hotel in Columbus embodied the optimism of the 1960s". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved 2025-03-27.