Cathedral of Saint Patrick (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Cathedral of St. Patrick |
|
|---|---|
.JPG) |
|
 Location in Pennsylvania
|
|
| 40°15′49.32″N 76°53′11.04″W / 40.2637000°N 76.8864000°W | |
| Location | 212 State St. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania |
| Country | United States |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| History | |
| Status | Cathedral/Parish |
| Dedication | Saint Patrick |
| Architecture | |
| Architect(s) | George I. Lovatt, Sr. |
| Style | Baroque Revival |
| Groundbreaking | 1904 |
| Completed | 1907 |
| Construction cost | $250,000 |
| Specifications | |
| Number of domes | One |
| Materials | Granite |
| Administration | |
| Diocese | Harrisburg |
The Cathedral of Saint Patrick is a large Catholic church in downtown Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, United States. It is the main church for the Diocese of Harrisburg. This means it is where the bishop of the diocese has his special chair, called a cathedra.
The cathedral is also an important building within the Harrisburg Historic District. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, which is a special list of buildings, sites, and objects that are important in American history.
Contents
History of the Cathedral
Catholicism, the faith of the Catholic Church, arrived in Central Pennsylvania even before the American Revolutionary War. German Jesuits, who are members of a Catholic religious order, built early churches like the Conewago Chapel in 1730 and St. Mary's Church in Lancaster in 1743.
By 1806, there was a small Catholic group meeting in Harrisburg. In 1813, land was bought in Allison Hill, and a small chapel was built there. As Harrisburg grew, many Irish immigrants came to the town.
In 1824, a priest named Rev. Patrick Leary bought land on State Street. Two years later, in 1826, the first stone for a new St. Patrick's church was laid. This first church cost $6,500 to build. A very important person, St. John Neumann, who was a bishop from Philadelphia, visited this church in 1855 and 1857.
Building the New Cathedral
The Diocese of Harrisburg was officially created by Pope Pius IX on March 3, 1868. St. Patrick's church then became the "pro-cathedral," which means it was the temporary main church for the new diocese.
In 1902, Bishop John W. Shanahan suggested that a new, permanent cathedral should be built. A group was formed to plan this. They chose the designs from an architect named George I. Lovatt, Sr. from Philadelphia.
Before construction could begin, bodies buried in the old parish cemetery had to be moved to a new cemetery called Mount Calvary. Building work for the new church started in 1904. It was finished on March 1, 1907. The grand new cathedral cost $250,000 to build. In 1976, the church was officially recognized as an important historic building within the Harrisburg Historic District.
Cathedral Design and Art
St. Patrick's Cathedral was designed in a style called Baroque Revival. This style brings back ideas from the Baroque period, which was known for its grand and dramatic art and architecture. It also has some influences from Renaissance Revival style, which looks back to the classical art of ancient Greece and Rome. The building is topped with a beautiful dome.
The outside of the cathedral is covered in granite, a strong stone, from North Carolina. Inside, the walls have special wood paneling called wainscoting. This wainscoting is covered with a type of marble from the Middle East, topped with green Connemara marble from Ireland.
The main part of the church, called the nave, has tall granite columns. These columns hold up a vaulted ceiling, which is a curved ceiling that looks like an arch. There are 44 beautiful stained glass windows in the nave. These windows were made in Munich, Germany, and they let colorful light into the church.
The original altar, which is the table where religious services are held, was designed to look like a famous altar in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. The original pulpit, a raised stand where sermons are given, had carved figures. These figures were inspired by ancient paintings found in the Roman Catacombs. They showed the four evangelists (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) with the Lamb of God standing on a symbolic mountain.
Changes Over Time
The cathedral has been updated a few times. In 1949-1950, the altar was made simpler, and the chancel (the area around the altar) was changed to create more space. The inside of the church was decorated with new paintings called frescoes. These paintings included the four important early Christian thinkers, called the Western Fathers of the Church: Jerome, Augustine of Hippo, Gregory the Great, and Ambrose. These paintings are on the curved parts beneath the dome.
A special message was also added to the lower part of the dome. It says: "Behold, I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world." This is a quote from the Bible. The shrines, which are special places for prayer, dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Joseph were given special backgrounds that made them look like they had light and shadow. The Stations of the Cross, which are a series of images showing Jesus's last day, were made to look like bronze with gold highlights and were placed into the wall.
In 1976, the chancel was changed again. A new altar was made from parts of the old one and moved closer to the people. The tabernacle, where the Eucharist is kept, was moved to a new Altar of Repose. A new ambo (another type of pulpit) was put in, and the cathedra (the bishop's special chair) was moved to a more central spot.
Over the years, several shrines have been added to the cathedral to remember the past bishops of Harrisburg.
- Bishop John W. Shanahan is honored with a bronze crucifix, which is a cross with a figure of Jesus on it. This is at the back of the cathedral.
- Bishop Philip R. McDevitt is honored with a shrine showing Christ teaching children.
- Bishop George L. Leech is honored with a shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton.
- Bishop Joseph T. Daley is honored with a shrine of St. John Neumann.
- A shrine to St. Katherine Drexel is located in the cathedral's front entrance area, called the portico.
See also
In Spanish: Catedral de San Patricio (Harrisburg) para niños
