The Cathedral of St. Joseph is the
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 ...
church of the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Manchester
The Diocese of Manchester la, Diocensis Manchesteriensis is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the region of New England in the United States, comprising the entire state of New Hampshire.
It is a suf ...
in
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...
, United States. It is located at 145 Lowell Street in the downtown district. Bishop
Peter Libasci serves as Bishop of the Diocese of
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
, and Father Jason Jalbert is the rector of the cathedral parish.
History
The church was founded in 1869 to serve the needs of
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
immigrants.
Pope Leo XIII
Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-old ...
established the Diocese of Manchester in 1884, and St. Joseph's parish became the cathedral that same year. The building has undergone several renovations and expansions since.
In 1968, the
high altar
An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paganis ...
,
Stations of the Cross
The Stations of the Cross or the Way of the Cross, also known as the Way of Sorrows or the Via Crucis, refers to a series of images depicting Jesus Christ on the day of Crucifixion of Jesus, his crucifixion and accompanying prayers. The station ...
, and many other decorations were removed according to the fashion popular after the
Second Vatican Council
The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions) ...
. The diocese began another renovation in 2014 to install similar pieces removed from Holy Trinity Church in Boston after it closed.
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
St. Joseph Cathedral official siteRoman Catholic Diocese of Manchester official site
Irish-American culture in New Hampshire
Joseph
Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...
Roman Catholic churches in Manchester, New Hampshire
Churches in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire
Tourist attractions in Manchester, New Hampshire
Cathedrals in New Hampshire
Religious organizations established in 1884
Roman Catholic churches completed in 1894
19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United States
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