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The Cathedral of Saint Paul — informally known as Saint Paul's Cathedral — is the
mother church Mother church or matrice is a term depicting the Christian Church as a mother in her functions of nourishing and protecting the believer. It may also refer to the primary church of a Christian denomination or diocese, i.e. a cathedral or a metro ...
of the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Worcester The Diocese of Worcester is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the New England region of the United States. The geographic boundaries of the diocese are the same as those of Worcester County, Massachu ...
. It is located at 38 Chatham Street in downtown
Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is a city and county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, the city's population was 206,518 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the second-List of cities i ...
. Built between 1868 and 1889, it is one of the city's finest examples of
Victorian Gothic architecture Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...
, and was 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 ...
in 1980.


Architecture

The Cathedral of Saint Paul stands in downtown Worcester, facing north on the south side of Chatham Street at High Street, one block west of Main Street. It is a large stone cruciform structure, built out rock-faced granite blocks. The main facade consists of a tall square tower on the right, the gabled end of the nave at the center, and a smaller square tower topped by a round turret on the left. There are entrances in the base of the large tower, and in projecting Gothic-arched sections in front of the nave. The main roof is steeply pitched, with a cross at the front gable end, and tall Gothic windows in the gables at the nave and transepts.


History

The parish of Saint Paul was founded in 1866 by John Power, the rector of Saint Anne's Parish. The church was designed by architects E. Boyden & Son, and construction began in the spring of 1868. The first services were held in the basement in 1869. The superstructure, excluding the main tower, was completed by 1874, at which time the church was dedicated. The building is in length, in width, and in height. When the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Worcester The Diocese of Worcester is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the New England region of the United States. The geographic boundaries of the diocese are the same as those of Worcester County, Massachu ...
was established, it was elevated to the cathedral church by Bishop John J. Wright on March 7, 1950. A statue of St.
Francis of Assisi Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone, better known as Saint Francis of Assisi ( it, Francesco d'Assisi; – 3 October 1226), was a mystic Italian Catholic friar, founder of the Franciscans, and one of the most venerated figures in Christianit ...
occupies the small courtyard on the side of the church. During the Christmas season, the church also displays its Nativity here.


Gallery

File:Nativity at St Paul Cathedral Worcester MA 2014.jpg, Nativity outside the church, 2014 File:St Francis Statue.jpg, Statue of St Francis outside the church


See also

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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 ...
*
National Register of Historic Places listings in northwestern Worcester, Massachusetts There are 111 properties and historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Worcester, Massachusetts, west of I-190 and the north–south section of I-290 and north of Massachusetts Route 122, which are listed here. Two listings ...
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National Register of Historic Places listings in Worcester County, Massachusetts __NOTOC__ This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) designated in Worcester County, Massachusetts. The locations of NRHP properties and districts for which the latitude and longitude coordinates are included below, may be ...


References


External links


Official Cathedral SiteRoman Catholic Diocese of Worcester Official Site

''Places of the Past'', St. Paul's Cathedral
{{National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Roman Catholic churches in Worcester, Massachusetts Paul Worcester Stone churches in Massachusetts Religious organizations established in 1869 Roman Catholic churches completed in 1874 Gothic Revival church buildings in Massachusetts National Register of Historic Places in Worcester, Massachusetts 1869 establishments in Massachusetts 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United States