The Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception (french: Cathédrale de l'Immaculée-Conception de Mobile) is a
cathedral
A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...
serving
Roman Catholics
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
in the U.S. city of
Mobile, Alabama
Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 cens ...
. It is the seat of the
Archbishop
In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...
of the
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mobile
''Former names: Apostolic Vicariate of Alabama and the Floridas (1825-1829), Diocese of Mobile (1829-1954; 1969-1980), Diocese of Mobile-Birmingham (1954-1969).''
The Archdiocese of Mobile (Latin: ''Archidiœcesis Mobiliensis'') is a Latin Churc ...
. The cathedral is named for
Mary, mother of Jesus
Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jews, Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Jose ...
, under her title,
Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception
The Immaculate Conception is the belief that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception.
It is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church, meaning that it is held to be a divinely revealed truth w ...
. It is listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
as a
contributing property
In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic distri ...
to the
Church Street East Historic District
The Church Street East Historic District is a historic district in the city of Mobile, Alabama, United States. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on 16 December 1971. Since a boundary increase on 13 January 1984, it is r ...
and
Lower Dauphin Street Historic District
The Lower Dauphin Street Historic District is a historic district in the city of Mobile, Alabama, United States. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on 9 February 1979. The district encompasses all of Dauphin Street from ...
and is listed on the
History
Mobile’s Cathedral Parish was established on July 20, 1703, by
Jean-Baptiste de la Croix de Chevrières de Saint-Vallier
Jean-Baptiste de La Croix de Chevrières de St. Vallier (November 14, 1653 – December 26, 1727) is most known as Quebec's second bishop. Born in the southeastern French city of Grenoble in 1653, to a wealthy land owning family, Saint-Vallier swi ...
,
Bishop of Quebec. Bishop de Saint-Vallier named Father Roulleaux de La Vente, first pastor of the parish church, which was located at the French settlement of Mobile at the citadel of
Fort Louis de la Louisiane. The parish is the first established on the
Gulf Coast
The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South, is the coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The coastal states that have a shoreline on the Gulf of Mexico are Texas, Louisiana, Mississ ...
.
When the Mobile settlement was relocated to its present site in 1711, a new parish church was built and was known as Notre Dame de la Mobile (Our Lady of Mobile). In 1781, during the Spanish occupation of Mobile, the parish took its current name, Immaculate Conception.
Mobile was elevated to a diocese in 1829, and Frenchman,
Michael Portier
Bishop Michael Portier (September 7, 1795, Montbrison, Loire, Montbrison, France – May 14, 1859, Mobile, Alabama) was a Roman Catholic bishop in the United States and the first Archdiocese of Mobile, Bishop of Mobile. He immigrated to the ...
, was named its first bishop. Bishop Portier’s first “cathedral” was a small wooden structure located in the Old Spanish Burying Ground, site of the present cathedral. Portier soon set out to construct a "real" cathedral.
Construction
The cathedral, designed in 1833, by Claude Beroujon, a former seminarian turned architect, is laid out in a Roman
basilica
In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its name ...
design. Construction began in 1835, but the
Panic of 1837
The Panic of 1837 was a financial crisis in the United States that touched off a major depression, which lasted until the mid-1840s. Profits, prices, and wages went down, westward expansion was stalled, unemployment went up, and pessimism abound ...
, caused a shortage of funds and delayed progress. The cathedral was consecrated for public worship in 1850, by Bishop Portier, though Beroujon’s design was not yet fully realized. The portico and
towers
A tower is a tall structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting structures.
Towers are specifica ...
were to come later.
The
classical portico
A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cult ...
, with eight massive
columns
A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member. ...
of the Roman
Doric order
The Doric order was one of the three orders of ancient Greek and later Roman architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian. The Doric is most easily recognized by the simple circular capitals at the top of col ...
, was added in the 1870s, under the direction of Bishop
John Quinlan. The two towers were completed in 1884, during the watch of Bishop
Jeremiah O'Sullivan
Jeremiah O'Sullivan (February 6, 1842 – August 10, 1896) was an Irish-born clergyman of the Roman Catholic Church who served as Bishop of Mobile from 1885 until his death in 1896.
Biography
Jeremiah O'Sullivan was born in Kanturk, County Cork, ...
.
Location and dimensions
Located on South Claiborne Street in downtown, it is bounded by Dauphin Street on the north, Franklin Street on the west, and Conti Street on the south. The front of the church faces east, toward the
Mobile River
The Mobile River is located in southern Alabama in the United States. Formed out of the confluence of the Tombigbee and Alabama rivers, the approximately river drains an area of of Alabama, with a watershed extending into Mississippi, Georg ...
, and overlooks
Cathedral Square.
The building, laid out in an east-west axis, is long and wide. The ceiling is at its highest point, and its twin towers rise to .
Stained glass windows
![Stained glass at Cathedral of Immaculate Conception 05](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9a/Stained_glass_at_Cathedral_of_Immaculate_Conception_05.jpg)
One of the cathedral’s finest attributes is its
stained glass
Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...
windows. The windows were made in
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
by
Franz Mayer & Co., and installed beginning in 1890. The last window was installed in 1910, during the time of Bishop
Edward Patrick Allen
Edward Patrick Allen (March 17, 1853 – October 21, 1926) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as Bishop of Mobile from 1897 until his death in 1926.
Biography
Edward Allen was born in Lowell, Massachusetts, to John ...
.
The twelve main windows, six on the south wall and six on the north wall, are approximately wide and tall. Each window depicts an event involving
Mary
Mary may refer to:
People
* Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name)
Religious contexts
* New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below
* Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...
in the life of her son,
Jesus
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
. The subjects of the south wall windows are ''
Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception
The Immaculate Conception is the belief that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception.
It is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church, meaning that it is held to be a divinely revealed truth w ...
'', the ''
Presentation of Mary at the Temple'', the ''
Annunciation
The Annunciation (from Latin '), also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Annunciation of Our Lady, or the Annunciation of the Lord, is the Christian celebration of the biblical tale of the announcement by the ange ...
'', the ''
Visitation'', the ''
Nativity of Jesus
The nativity of Jesus, nativity of Christ, birth of Jesus or birth of Christ is described in the biblical gospels of Gospel of Luke, Luke and Gospel of Matthew, Matthew. The two accounts agree that Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judaea (Roman ...
'', and the ''
Holy Family
The Holy Family consists of the Child Jesus, the Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph. The subject became popular in art from the 1490s on, but veneration of the Holy Family was formally begun in the 17th century by Saint François de Laval, the first ...
''. The themes of the north wall are the ''
Finding of the Child Jesus at the Temple'', the ''
Marriage Feast of Cana'', the ''
Crucifixion of Jesus
The crucifixion and death of Jesus occurred in 1st-century Judea, most likely in AD 30 or AD 33. It is described in the four canonical gospels, referred to in the New Testament epistles, attested to by other ancient sources, and consid ...
'', ''
Pentecost
Pentecost (also called Whit Sunday, Whitsunday or Whitsun) is a Christianity, Christian holiday which takes place on the 50th day (the seventh Sunday) after Easter Sunday. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles in the Ne ...
'', the ''
Assumption of Mary into Heaven'', and the ''
Coronation of Mary, Queen of Heaven''.
Two large windows flank the portico, one under each of the two towers. The ''
Baptism of Jesus
The baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist is a major event in the life of Jesus which is described in the three synoptic Gospels of the New Testament (Matthew, Mark and Luke). It is considered to have taken place at Al-Maghtas (also called Bethan ...
'' in the
River Jordan
The Jordan River or River Jordan ( ar, نَهْر الْأُرْدُنّ, ''Nahr al-ʾUrdunn'', he, נְהַר הַיַּרְדֵּן, ''Nəhar hayYardēn''; syc, ܢܗܪܐ ܕܝܘܪܕܢܢ ''Nahrāʾ Yurdnan''), also known as ''Nahr Al-Shariea ...
, by
John the Baptist
John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...
is the subject of the window in the Reconciliation Room, under the north tower. The window under the south tower, in the stairway to the choir loft, appropriately depicts ''
St. Cecilia'',
patron saint
A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...
of musicians.
Smaller windows are found in each of the eight doors in the foyer, behind the cathedral’s main doors, at the church’s front entrance. These depict, from left to right, ''
St. Augustine of Hippo'', ''
Our Lady of Mount Carmel
Our Lady of Mount Carmel, or Virgin of Carmel, is the title given to the Blessed Virgin Mary in her role as patroness of the Carmelite Order, particularly within the Catholic Church. The first Carmelites were Christian hermits living on Mount Ca ...
'', the ''Presentation of Mary at the Temple'', ''
St. Louis IX, King of France'', ''
St. Patrick
ST, St, or St. may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Stanza, in poetry
* Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band
* Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise
* Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy an ...
'', ''Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception'', ''
St. Agnes of Rome, Virgin & Martyr '', and the ''
Most Sacred Heart of Jesus
The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus ( la, Cor Jesu Sacratissimum) is one of the most widely practised and well-known Catholic devotions, wherein the heart of Jesus is viewed as a symbol of "God's boundless and passionate love for mankind". This devo ...
''. Above the four middle doors is the
Holy Spirit
In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is the divine force, quality, and influence of God over the Universe or over his creatures. In Nicene Christianity, the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost is the third person of the Trinity. In Islam, the Holy Spirit acts as ...
window.
Fire and other damage
Over the course of time, the cathedral experienced its share of disasters, including an explosion, a
fire
Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products.
At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition ...
, an airplane hit, and
hurricane
A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...
s.
On May 25, 1865, a
Union Army
During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...
ammunition depot exploded, killing some 300 persons, and burning much of Mobile. The windows and sashes on the north side of the cathedral were blown in by the explosion. There were no services being held in the cathedral at the time.
During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, a pilot-in-training, flying low, clipped one of the towers, resulting in damage.
Disaster struck on March 19, 1954, when a homeless man, seeking shelter in the church, caused a fire that destroyed the sanctuary. The church still stood, but the interior suffered damage from fire,
smoke
Smoke is a suspension of airborne particulates and gases emitted when a material undergoes combustion or pyrolysis, together with the quantity of air that is entrained or otherwise mixed into the mass. It is commonly an unwanted by-product ...
, and water from the
firefighter
A firefighter is a first responder and rescuer extensively trained in firefighting, primarily to extinguish hazardous fires that threaten life, property, and the environment as well as to rescue people and in some cases or jurisdictions also ...
s’ attempt to control the blaze.
Repair, renovation and restoration
![Cathedral-Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Mobile South Tower](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c4/Cathedral-Basilica_of_the_Immaculate_Conception_in_Mobile_South_Tower.jpg)
After the 1954 fire, Bishop
Thomas Joseph Toolen
Thomas Joseph Toolen (February 28, 1886 – December 4, 1976) was an American clergyman of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Mobile from 1927 to 1969, and was given the personal title of Archbishop in 1954.
Early life and educati ...
had the damaged stained glass windows sent to the Franz Meyer workshops in Munich for repair. Here the craftsmen used the original drawings as a guide in their restoration efforts. He replaced the fire-damaged
cathedra
A ''cathedra'' is the raised throne of a bishop in the early Christian basilica. When used with this meaning, it may also be called the bishop's throne. With time, the related term ''cathedral'' became synonymous with the "seat", or principa ...
and
pulpit
A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, access ...
with new ones made of mahogany. A replacement
organ
Organ may refer to:
Biology
* Organ (biology), a part of an organism
Musical instruments
* Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone
** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument
** Hammond ...
, built by the
Wicks Organ Company {{Primary sources, date=December 2016
The Wicks Organ Company is an organ manufacturer in Highland, Illinois in the United States where they build, repair, and restore organs.
History
The Wicks Organ Company was founded by Adolph Wick, John F. Wic ...
, was installed and is in use today. At this time, Toolen added a massive
bronze
Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...
baldachin
A baldachin, or baldaquin (from it, baldacchino), is a canopy of state typically placed over an altar or throne. It had its beginnings as a cloth canopy, but in other cases it is a sturdy, permanent architectural feature, particularly over h ...
above the altar, supported by four marble columns.
In the 1970s, Bishop
John L. May
John Lawrence May (March 31, 1922 – March 24, 1994) was an American clergyman of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Mobile (1969–1980) and Archbishop of St. Louis (1980–1992).
Early life and education
John May was born in E ...
made modifications to the sanctuary in compliance with the 1970 ''General Instruction of the Roman Missal.
The altar was moved forward and the altar rails were removed. The cathedra was moved to its present location on the south end of the sanctuary facing the congregation. At this time, Bishop May also added a bronze representation of the Risen Christ above the baldachin and a large
crucifix
A crucifix (from Latin ''cruci fixus'' meaning "(one) fixed to a cross") is a cross with an image of Jesus on it, as distinct from a bare cross. The representation of Jesus himself on the cross is referred to in English as the ''corpus'' (Lati ...
over the
tabernacle
According to the Hebrew Bible, the tabernacle ( he, מִשְׁכַּן, mīškān, residence, dwelling place), also known as the Tent of the Congregation ( he, link=no, אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד, ’ōhel mō‘ēḏ, also Tent of Meeting, etc.), ...
.
Archbishop
Oscar Hugh Lipscomb
Oscar Hugh Lipscomb (September 21, 1931July 15, 2020) was an American bishop of the Catholic Church. He served the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mobile, Alabama, for 28 years. Lipscomb attended high school in Mobile, before studying for the p ...
led the most recent restoration effort in the 2000s. Under his direction, the cast-iron fence was restored and repaired, and the cathedral exterior was cleaned and repaired. An interior overhaul, executed by
Conrad Schmitt Studios
Conrad Schmitt Studios is an architectural arts studio located in New Berlin, Wisconsin. It provides ecclesiastical art, stained glass artistry, art glass, decorative painting, mosaics, murals and sculptural arts. The studio specializes in resto ...
, included a
coffer
A coffer (or coffering) in architecture is a series of sunken panels in the shape of a square, rectangle, or octagon in a ceiling, soffit or vault.
A series of these sunken panels was often used as decoration for a ceiling or a vault, also c ...
ceiling above the main aisle. The coffers are decorated with alternating
gold-leafed fleur-de-lis
The fleur-de-lis, also spelled fleur-de-lys (plural ''fleurs-de-lis'' or ''fleurs-de-lys''), is a lily (in French, and mean 'flower' and 'lily' respectively) that is used as a decorative design or symbol.
The fleur-de-lis has been used in the ...
and
shamrock
A shamrock is a young sprig, used as a symbol of Ireland. Saint Patrick, Ireland's patron saint, is said to have used it as a metaphor for the Christian Holy Trinity. The name ''shamrock'' comes from Irish (), which is the diminutive of ...
, symbolically representing the
Trinity
The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the F ...
, as well as the contributions of the French and Irish religious to the life of the Archdiocese. New lighting and a new color scheme brightens the interior. White marble flooring was installed in the aisles and the heart pine floors under the pews were refinished. Embedded in the marble floor of the main aisle are the
coats-of-arms
A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its wh ...
of the Mobile bishops and archbishops. A mural of the
Tree of Jesse
The Tree of Jesse is a depiction in art of the ancestors of Jesus Christ, shown in a branching tree which rises from Jesse of Bethlehem, the father of King David. It is the original use of the family tree as a schematic representation of a ge ...
was installed above the pipe organ.
Basilica designation
In 1962,
Pope John XXIII
Pope John XXIII ( la, Ioannes XXIII; it, Giovanni XXIII; born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, ; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death in June 19 ...
elevated the cathedral to a
minor basilica
In the Catholic Church, a basilica is a designation given by the Pope to a church building. Basilicas are distinguished for ceremonial purposes from other churches. The building need not be a basilica in the architectural sense (a rectangular ...
, a title bestowed, only by the pope, on churches of historical and spiritual importance. A basilica is entitled to have its own coat-of-arms. Other basilica insignia include Pope John XXIII's personal coat-of-arms installed above the cathedral entrance, the yellow and red ''
umbracullum'' (umbrella) and ''
tintinnabulum
A tintinnabulum (roughly "little bell" in Medieval Latin) is a bell mounted on a pole, placed in a Roman Catholic basilica to signify the church's link with the Pope. It consists of a small gold bell within a golden frame crowned with the papal ...
'' (bell) in the sanctuary.
Gallery
A gallery of photographs taken October 23, 1936, for the
Historic American Buildings Survey
Heritage Documentation Programs (HDP) is a division of the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) responsible for administering the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), Historic American Engineering Record (HAER), and Historic American Landscapes ...
. Note the interior as it looked before the fire of 1954.
Image:Cathedral of Immaculate Conception Mobile 2.jpg, East elevation (front) portico and towers.
Image:Cathedral of Immaculate Conception Mobile 3.jpg, South side and tower looking slightly northeast
Image:Cathedral of Immaculate Conception Mobile 1.jpg, View of the west end of the nave from the organ balcony showing sanctuary and apse.
Image:Cathedral of Immaculate Conception Mobile 5.jpg, East end of nave showing organ and choir balcony and entrance.
Image:Cathedral of Immaculate Conception Mobile 6.jpg, Section of foundation wall under line of columns above nave.
Image:Cathedral of Immaculate Conception Mobile 7.jpg, Interior column caps and barrel vault ceiling over the south aisle.
Image:Cathedral of Immaculate Conception Mobile 8.jpg, Cast iron gates and fence on east front.
Image:Cathedral of Immaculate Conception Mobile 9.jpg, Detail of portico ceiling and columns, north end or portico.
See also
*
List of Catholic cathedrals in the United States
The following is a list of the Catholic cathedrals in the United States. The Catholic Church in the United States comprises ecclesiastical territories called dioceses led by prelate bishops. Each bishop is assigned to a cathedral from which he ...
*
List of cathedrals in the United States
This is a list of cathedrals in the United States, including both actual cathedrals (seats of bishops in episcopal Christian groups, such as Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy and the Armenian Apostolic Church) and a few prominent church ...
References
External links
Official Cathedral SiteRoman Catholic Archdiocese of Mobile Official Site
*
*
{{Mobile, Alabama
1703 establishments in the French colonial empire
Roman Catholic churches completed in 1850
Immaculate Conception Mobile
Immaculate Conception Mobile
Roman Catholic churches in Mobile, Alabama
Greek Revival church buildings in Alabama
Immaculate Conception in Mobile, Cathedral of the
Immaculate Conception in Mobile, Cathedral of the
African American Heritage Trail of Mobile
Historic American Buildings Survey in Alabama
19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United States