St. Mary's Cathedral (Amarillo, Texas) facts for kids

St. Mary's Cathedral is a special Catholic building in Amarillo, Texas, United States. It's called a cathedral because it's the main church for the Diocese of Amarillo. It has been the main church since 2011.

History of St. Mary's Cathedral

From School to Church

The land where St. Mary's Cathedral stands today was once home to St. Mary's Academy. This school was started by the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word from San Antonio. In 1944, another church, Sacred Heart Cathedral, bought this property.

A few years later, in 1947, a small chapel was moved to the school grounds. This chapel came from an Air Force base. It became a convenient place for people from Sacred Heart Cathedral to worship.

Starting a New Parish

In 1959, a new church community, called St. Mary's Parish, began on the academy property. They built a new church building for this parish in 1981. Sadly, this church was destroyed by a fire on February 26, 2007.

Becoming a Cathedral

The idea of St. Mary's becoming a cathedral was first suggested by Bishop John Walter Yanta. However, he was close to retirement, so nothing happened at that time.

His successor, Bishop Patrick Zurek, asked the Holy See (the main authority of the Catholic Church) to change the cathedral. The previous cathedral was St. Laurence Cathedral.

The current St. Mary's church building was officially opened on September 11, 2010. On March 25, 2011, it was announced as the third cathedral for the Amarillo Diocese.

Amazing Architecture and Art

Special Items from the Past

When the old Sacred Heart Cathedral downtown was being taken down, a priest named Msgr. Francis Smyer saved many items. He was the pastor of St. Mary's for a long time, from 1970 to 2001. Most of these saved items are now part of the new St. Mary's Cathedral.

For example, the beautiful stained glass windows came from the old cathedral. They were made by Conrad Schmidt Studios in Milwaukee. The altar stone, which is a special part of the altar, is also from Sacred Heart. It's actually made from three altar stones from the old church. Records show that these stones contain small pieces, called relics, from important saints like St. Thomas Aquinas, St. John Vianney, and St. Pius X.

Unique Details and Art

You can also see two carved wooden angels in the Adoration Chapel. These angels were once on the side altars of Sacred Heart Cathedral. One of the side altars from the old church is now used as the altar in the daily Mass chapel.

Behind the Tabernacle, where the Eucharist is kept, there is a special container called a reliquary. This reliquary holds 25 relics from saints who have been declared "blessed" or "canonized."

The cathedral also features new works of art. There are tapestries from Taos, New Mexico, which are like woven pictures. A copper baptismal pool was created by an artist from South Texas. The large pipe organ has 1,200 pipes and trumpets, and it is very valuable.

On the outside of the cathedral, there is a special carving in the brick. It's a bas relief of the Virgin Mary holding the Christ Child. This beautiful artwork was made by an artist from Nebraska.

See also

In Spanish: Catedral de Santa María (Amarillo) para niños

• List of Catholic cathedrals in the United States
• List of cathedrals in the United States