Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis (St. Louis) facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

This page is about the cathedral in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. For other similarly-named cathedrals, see St. Louis Cathedral.

Quick facts for kids Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis

Location in Missouri
38°38′33″N 90°15′17″W / 38.64250°N 90.25472°W / 38.64250; -90.25472
Location	4431 Lindell Boulevard St. Louis, Missouri
Country	United States
Denomination	Roman Catholic Church
Website	www.cathedralstl.org
History
Status	Cathedral, minor basilica
Founded	1914
Consecrated	June 29, 1926
Architecture
Architect(s)	Barnett, Haynes & Barnett
Style	Neo-Byzantine Romanesque Revival
Groundbreaking	1907
Completed	1914
Construction cost	$3,000,000 (1914 dollars)
Specifications
Capacity	2,500 (floor seating) 5,000 (including galleries)
Length	365 feet (111 m)
Width	204 feet (62 m)
Number of domes	Three
Dome height (outer)	227 feet (69 m)
Dome height (inner)	143 feet (44 m)
Dome diameter (inner)	80 feet (24 m)
Number of spires	Two
Materials	Granite (exterior) Brick, marble, mosaic tiles (interior)
Administration
Deanery	South City
Archdiocese	Archdiocese of St. Louis

The Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis is a beautiful and important Catholic church in St. Louis, Missouri. It is also known as the Saint Louis Cathedral. This amazing building was finished in 1914.

It serves as the main church for the Archdiocese of St. Louis. The current leader, Archbishop Mitchell T. Rozanski, has his main office here. The cathedral is named after Saint Louis, a French king. In 1997, Pope John Paul II gave it the special title of a basilica.

This cathedral was built to replace an older church, the Basilica of St. Louis, King of France. Work on the new building started on May 1, 1907. The first special ceremony and Mass happened on October 18, 1914. This was when the main structure was complete. The church was officially made sacred on June 29, 1926. The Cathedral Basilica is famous for its huge mosaics and its special burial crypts. It has one of the largest mosaic collections in the Western Hemisphere!

History of the Cathedral
Amazing Mosaics Inside
Crypts and Museum Tours
The Angel of Harmony Sculpture
The Grand Organ
Gallery
See also

History of the Cathedral

Plans for building this grand cathedral began way back in the 1870s. Archbishop Peter Richard Kenrick started the idea. Later, Archbishop John Joseph Kain helped create a fund to pay for its construction.

A group called the St. Louis Cathedral Building Association was formed in 1871. This group included important church leaders and local business people. At first, they thought about building the cathedral in a different spot in the city.

The actual construction began when Archbishop John J. Glennon took charge. The famous architecture company Barnett, Haynes & Barnett was chosen. Thomas P. Barnett led the team that designed the church.

The groundbreaking ceremony, which is when construction officially starts, was on May 1, 1907. The building's first stone was laid on October 18, 1908. By 1914, enough of the building was ready for a special dedication ceremony.

However, the church was not fully made sacred until June 29, 1926. Even after that, the amazing mosaics inside the cathedral were not completely finished until 1988!

On December 20, 1943, a special Mass was held for Butch O'Hare. He was a brave US Navy fighter pilot and a Medal of Honor winner.

Near the cathedral, there is also a unique round building called the Chancery Building. It was built around 1965. It was designed by a well-known architect named Wenceslaus Sarmiento.

A view looking down the main aisle
The Tintinnabulum, a small bell showing the church is a minor basilica
The beautiful ceiling of the All Saints Chapel

Amazing Mosaics Inside

Interior of the cathedral, showing some of the mosaics.

The installation of the stunning mosaics inside the cathedral started in 1912. These mosaics were finally completed in 1988. They are made from 41.5 million tiny pieces of glass! These pieces are called tesserae. They come in more than 7,000 different colors.

The mosaics cover a huge area of 83,000 square feet (about 7,711 square meters). This makes it one of the largest mosaic collections in the world outside of Russia.

A mosaic on the ceiling of the narthex, showing a Bible verse.

The mosaics in some of the smaller chapels and sanctuary walls were designed by Tiffany Studios. But the mosaics in the main parts of the cathedral were designed by August Oetken. Many skilled artists worked on installing these mosaics. This included a father and son team, Paul and Arno Heuduck, who spent almost their entire working lives on this project.

The entrance area, called the narthex, shows scenes from the life of King Louis IX of France. He is the namesake of both the city and the church. The back dome has mosaics that show important events from the local church history. The main dome, designed by Jan Henryk de Rosen, shows scenes from the Biblical Old Testament and New Testament.

Crypts and Museum Tours

The church has a basement area called the undercroft. Here, you can find a museum that tells the story of the church's mosaics. It also displays other interesting artifacts found within the cathedral.

Also in the undercroft is a special chapel. This chapel is dedicated to the memory of past leaders of the Archdiocese. Important church leaders, including Cardinals John J. Glennon, Joseph Ritter, and John Carberry, are buried in the cathedral's crypt. Archbishop John L. May is also buried there.

The Angel of Harmony Sculpture

"The Angel of Harmony" sculpture by Wiktor Szostalo.

In 1999, a large sculpture was placed on the lawn next to the church. It is 14 feet (about 4.3 meters) tall and made of welded stainless steel. The artist who created it is Wiktor Szostalo.

This sculpture was a gift from Adelaide Schlafly. She gave it in memory of her husband, Daniel Schlafly. He was a Catholic man who worked hard for racial justice and peace.

The sculpture shows a winged angel with African-American features. The angel stands behind three children. These children have Hispanic, Asian, and European features. They are playing a song of peace on their musical instruments. The base of the statue is made of granite. It has quotes from the New Testament, Pope John Paul II, and Martin Luther King Jr. The sculpture's main message is about harmony, peace, and fairness for all races.

The Grand Organ

The original Kilgen pipe organ console.

The cathedral has a very large and impressive organ. It was first built in 1915 by Geo. Kilgen and Son, Inc. Originally, the organ had two control panels, called consoles. One was in the gallery with the organ pipes. The other was behind the main altar.

In 1946, Kilgen installed a new organ in the cathedral. This 1946 organ had 77 "ranks" of pipes. A "rank" is a set of pipes that make a certain sound. Fourteen of these ranks came from the older organ. In 1948, an Echo Organ from Carnegie Hall in New York City was also added to the cathedral. In 1984, the M. P. Moller organ company fixed up the organ.

In 1997, the Wicks Organ Company began a big restoration project. They added more ranks of pipes, bringing the total to 96 ranks. They also added some digital sounds to the organ. A new four-manual console replaced the old one behind the altar. The second console in the gallery was also fixed up. Wicks also updated the organ's electronic parts.

In 2002, the gallery organ was made even bigger. A new section of pipes was added to the organ in the dome area. The final step was replacing the original gallery console with a new five-manual console in 2010. This new console, named the Ragen Organ Console, came from St. Bartholomew's Church in New York City and was fully restored. Now, every part of the organ can be controlled from either the gallery console or the movable console near the altar.

The very first Kilgen console was moved to the basement museum. Visitors can see it there. The gallery organ is often part of cultural tours in St. Louis.