Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart (Houston) Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart

Location in Texas
29°45′00″N 95°22′07″W / 29.7499°N 95.3687°W / 29.7499; -95.3687
Location	1111 St. Joseph Parkway Houston, Texas
Country	United States
Denomination	Roman Catholic
History
Status	Co-Cathedral
Founded	1896
Dedication	Sacred Heart of Jesus
Dedicated	April 2, 2008
Architecture
Architect(s)	Ziegler Cooper Architects
Style	Post-modern Art Deco
Completed	2008
Construction cost	$49 million
Specifications
Capacity	1,820
Nave width	72 feet (22 m)
Number of domes	One
Number of spires	One
Spire height	117 feet (36 m)
Materials	limestone and marble-clad walls, Metal Roof
Administration
Diocese	Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston

The Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart is a large and important church located at 1111 St. Joseph Parkway in downtown Houston, Texas. This beautiful building can seat 1,820 people in its main worship area, which is about 32,000 square feet. It works together with the historic St. Mary's Cathedral Basilica in Galveston, Texas, to serve over 1.2 million Roman Catholics in the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston.

What is a Co-Cathedral?
History of Sacred Heart Parish
Building the New Sacred Heart Co-Cathedral
Awards for Construction
Future of the Old Sacred Heart Site
Images for kids
See also

What is a Co-Cathedral?

In 1847, Pope Pius IX created the Diocese of Galveston for the 20,000 Catholics living in the new state of Texas. A diocese is like a church district led by a bishop. This new diocese was huge, covering an area as big as France! It had only one bishop and ten missionary priests.

The second St. Mary's church began construction in 1847 in Galveston. In 1848, it became St. Mary's Cathedral, the first Catholic Cathedral in Texas. For over 100 years, it was the only cathedral in the Diocese of Galveston.

As the city of Houston grew, the church needed more space. In 1959, the church leaders decided to have a second main church in Houston. They chose Sacred Heart Church, which was built in 1911, to be a "co-cathedral." This meant that important church ceremonies could now happen in Houston, as well as in Galveston. Both cathedrals are equally important. However, St. Mary's is known as the "Mother Cathedral" because it was the first one in Texas.

In 1979, Pope John Paul II gave St. Mary's the special title of "Basilica." This recognized its importance to the community and its historical role as the first Catholic church in Texas.

History of Sacred Heart Parish

The old Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart

Interior of the old Co-Cathedral

The Sacred Heart church started as a regular parish in downtown Houston on November 22, 1896. It was the fourth Catholic parish in the city and was created to serve the growing number of Catholics. Reverend Thomas Keaney was its first pastor.

In 1897, Keaney bought land for a new church. An architect named Olle J. Lorehn designed a gothic-style church. But construction on this big design didn't start until 1911. So, a smaller, temporary church was built first. Bishop Gallagher laid the first stone for this temporary church in May 1897, and it opened in November 1897.

On June 11, 1911, Bishop Gallagher laid the cornerstone for the main Sacred Heart Church. This church was finished and opened on April 14, 1912. It cost about $96,669 and could hold 800 people. After the new church was ready, the temporary church building became a school.

Over the years, the church buildings were improved and expanded. In 1920, a new brick rectory (where the priests live) was built. In 1922, the original church building was taken down to make way for a new school building.

Later pastors continued to add to the church. Monsignor Jerome A. Rapp (1927–1952) added many beautiful statues inside. Monsignor John J. Roach added central heating and air-conditioning in 1953. He also bought more land in 1954, so the parish owned a whole city block. He updated the outside of the church and school in 1957 and renovated the inside of Sacred Heart in 1964.

The last major interior renovation of the old Co-Cathedral happened in 1990. Bishop Joseph A. Fiorenza rededicated it. New features included a special chair for the bishop and three new mosaics made in Italy. Mosaics are pictures made from small pieces of colored glass or stone. One mosaic showed Jesus as the shepherd, another showed a symbol of the Eucharist (a holy meal), and the third showed a baptism scene.

In 2006, the Co-Cathedral parish bought the old Federal Reserve Bank Building next to the new Co-Cathedral. They called it Cathedral Centre. This building replaced the 1922 school building and now holds classrooms, offices, youth rooms, and a cafeteria.

Building the New Sacred Heart Co-Cathedral

Cathedral nave and sanctuary

The Resurrection window

By the 2000s, the old Co-Cathedral was almost 90 years old and too small for the growing number of church members. It had been added to and changed many times, so the church leaders decided to build a brand new Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart.

Ziegler Cooper Architects from Houston designed the new church, and Linbeck Group was the main builder. Design work started in 2002. Bishop Joseph Fiorenza worked closely on the design. He even took a model of the church to the Vatican, where Pope John Paul II reportedly approved the design.

On January 30, 2005, Archbishop Fiorenza led a groundbreaking ceremony, and construction began soon after. The new Sacred Heart church was designed to be both a religious center and a community gathering place.

The new Co-Cathedral is very large, covering about 27,800 square feet. It can seat 1,820 people, with space for 200 more chairs if needed. The church is built in a simple Italian Romanesque style, which means it looks like old Roman buildings. It has a cross shape when viewed from above. The outside is covered in Indiana Limestone, and the inside has about 30,000 square feet of beautiful marble.

The dome over the center of the church is 117 feet high. The outside of the dome is covered in copper and has a golden cross on top. Inside the dome, there's an 8-foot stained glass window showing the Holy Spirit. The bell tower, called a campanile, is 140 feet tall. One hundred and eight stained glass panels and windows, including those high up in the walls, were made in Florence, Italy.

Archbishop Joseph A. Fiorenza, who is now retired, oversaw the building of the new Co-Cathedral. The new Co-Cathedral does not change the importance of St. Mary's Cathedral Basilica in Galveston. Both churches continue to serve the people of the archdiocese.

On April 2, 2008, the new Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart officially opened with a special dedication Mass. Many Bishops and Cardinals from the United States and around the world attended. Cardinal Daniel DiNardo and Archbishop Joseph A. Fiorenza dedicated the new Co-Cathedral to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The final cost of building this amazing church was $49,000,000.

Awards for Construction

Main façade

After the new Co-Cathedral was finished in April 2008, the construction company, Linbeck Group, received many awards for their excellent work on the project.

Future of the Old Sacred Heart Site

In late 2007, the church leaders announced plans for the old Sacred Heart site. The 1922 Sacred Heart School building was taken down to create more parking for the new Co-Cathedral. There are also plans to turn the old parking lot behind the former church into a beautiful park called Cathedral Green. In 2023, the archdiocese announced that the former co-cathedral building would also be taken down.