Cathedral of St. Paul celebrates centennial

Postcard: Selby Tunnel and St. Paul Cathedral
A postcard, printed around 1910, shows both the now-closed Selby Tunnel and St. Paul Cathedral.
Courtesy Minnesota Historical Society

The Cathedral of St. Paul is kicking off its centennial celebration in St. Paul this weekend.

Sunday marks the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul, and the Cathedral is marking the occasion by opening of a year of celebration for one of Minnesota's most iconic buildings.

Cathedral of St. Paul archivist Celeste Raspanti
Cathedral of St. Paul archivist Celeste Raspanti says the church will welcome Crashed Ice visitors this weekend as part of its centennial celebrations.
Tim Nelson / MPR News

"We're opening an important exhibit, the timeline of cathedral history, which really begins in 1904, when Archbishop [John] Ireland got the idea he needed a cathedral," said Celeste Raspanti, cathedral archivist and chair of the centennial committee.

"The third cathedral was so small it couldn't hold all the people, and in 1904 he said, 'We will build a great church for a great city.' And in 1915, that happened."

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The church's cornerstone was laid in 1907, and work on the exterior and structure went on for eight years. Archbishop Ireland celebrated the first Mass on Palm Sunday in 1915, and though monumental, it was a sparse structure at the time, Raspanti said.

"There were pews here, there was the floor here. Nothing else. There was no artwork. And so it took from 1915 when the cathedral was finished, until 1958 for most of what you see to be finished. It took a long time," she said.

Work continued on the interior, shrines and fixtures for almost 50 years, even after the Cathedral was formally consecrated in 1958. A mosaic was added in 2013, and a statue added last summer. Spokeswoman Carolyn Will says there are still pedestals installed when the Cathedral was built that could hold additional statuary.

Timeline of Cathedral history

1905: Architect Emmanuel Louis selected to design fourth Cathedral of St. Paul
1907: Cornerstone laid
1915: Formal dedication
1923: Main altar completed
1932: Ressurection Window, the East Rose Window, completed
1947: Chandelier installed in main dome, replaces 750 watt bulb
1956: Stations of the Cross installed
1960: 8-ton statutes of St. Mark and St. Luke installed, statues of St. Matthew and St. John follow a year later
1974: Vandals set fire in crypt, smoke damages main church
1977: Cleaning and refurbishing from fire complete
1987: Five new bells dedicated
2000: Work begins to restore copper dome
2002: New aluminum gold cross installed atop dome
2009: Cathedral designated National Shrine of the Apostle Paul
2013: Mosaic from Vatican studios installed