Cathedral of St Paul
St Paul's Cathedral is the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Birmingham, located at 2120 Third Avenue North, on the northwest corner of its intersection with 22nd Street North in downtown Birmingham. The present Victorian Gothic brick building was dedicated on November 30, 1893.
The first Catholic church in downtown Birmingham was a 30-foot by 60-foot wooden building on a site adjacent to the present cathedral. It was moved to the present site on the corner and enlarged in 1880. The cornerstone for the new cathedral building, designed by the German-born, Chicago-based architect Alphonse Druiding, was laid on June 11, 1890 and $90,000 was spent completing the building over the next three years. The walls of the 96-foot by 140-foot nave consist of red brick and limestone with a polychrome slate roof supported by ten slender granite columns and a vaulted ceiling reaching 67 above the interior floor. The two octagonal towers on the southeast front carry spires reaching to 183 feet. A large statue of Christ dominates the facade, flanked by an image of St Paul the Apostle, the church's patron and St Joseph. The semicircular apse supports a domed vault and frames the Italian marble altar, first installed in 1905 at a cost of $5,000 and later altered. Statues in the interior honor Mary, the mother of Christ, St Joseph and St Anthony, patron of Italy - a nod to the increasing numbers of Italian catholics in Birmingham.
The church became a cathedral church with the creation of the Diocese of Birmingham in December 1969. The Bishop of Birmingham presides ceremonially from a "cathedra" in the church's sanctuary. The present bishop is Robert Baker and the cathedral's rector is Kevin Bazzel.
The cathedral's stained glass windows depict the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Immaculate Heart of Mary, the Assumption of the Virgin, Saint Paul, Saint John, Saitn Patrick, Saint John Berchmans, the Good Shepherd, the Holy Family, and Christ gathering the children. A circular window over the sanctuary depicts the Dove of the Spirit.
A major renovation in 1955 included the addition of air conditioning to the cathedral. Structural repairs and interior remodeling in conformance with the Second Vatican Council was completed in 1972. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. A new 4-manual Moller organ was installed in the choir gallery in 1986. A centennial renovation with improved wheelchair accessibility was completed in 1992. In November 2013 a $6.5 million 14-month re-roofing and exterior renovation project began.
A courtyard on the west side of the cathedral contains the grave of Joseph Vath, first Bishop of Birmingham, and the ashes of James Coyle, a parish priest who was murdered at the adjoining St Paul's Rectory in 1921.
Rectors
- John Browne, 1880-
- Patrick O'Reilly, -1904
- James Coyle, 1904-1921
- Richard Donohoe, 2001-2009
- Kevin Bazzel, 2009-present
References
- White, Marjorie Longenecker (1977) Downtown Birmingham: Architectural and Historical Walking Tour Guide. Birmingham: Birmingham Historical Society.
- Schnorrenberg, John M. (2000) Aspiration: Birmingham's Historic House of Worship. Birmingham: Birmingham Historical Society ISBN 0943994268
- Centennial Celebration Committee (1993) The Cathedral of St. Paul, 1893-1993. Birmingham: St Paul's Cathedral
- Garrison, Greg (November 27, 2013) "This old cathedral needs a makeover: Work starts on $6.5 million renovation at St. Paul's Cathedral." The Birmingham News
External links
- St Paul's Cathedral website