The Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, also known as St. Mary's Cathedral, is the

cathedral church A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral ...

for the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Grand Island The Diocese of Grand Island ( la, Dioecesis Insulae Grandis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in northwestern and central Nebraska. The ''cathedra'' of the Bishop of Grand Island is in Grand Island, Nebr ...

located in

Grand Island, Nebraska Grand Island is a city in and the county seat of Hall County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 53,131 at the 2020 census. Grand Island is the principal city of the Grand Island metropolitan area, which consists of Hall, Merrick, ...

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. It 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 1982.

History

Parish and church

In 1859 two brothers from

Iowa City, Iowa Iowa City, offically the City of Iowa City is a city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States. It is the home of the University of Iowa and county seat of Johnson County, at the center of the Iowa City Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the time ...

, Patrick and Richard Moore, settled in

Hall County, Nebraska Hall County is a county in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 58,607, making it Nebraska's fourth-most populous county. Its county seat is Grand Island. The county was formed in 1858; it was name ...

. They are believed to be the first Catholic settlers in the county. Other Catholic families moved to the area as well. The first priest to visit the area, the Rev. Almire Fairmont, arrived two years later. He celebrated Mass in the Moores' log dwelling, which was located three miles west of the present town of

Wood River Wood River may refer to: Rivers In Canada * Wood River (British Columbia), a tributary of the Columbia River via Kinbasket Lake * Wood River (Saskatchewan), a river in south-west Saskatchewan In Ireland * Wood River (County Clare), Kilru ...

. In the following years, a priest from

Omaha Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest city ...

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would visit once a year to celebrate Mass and administer the Sacraments. After the railroad arrived in Hall County in 1868,"The Pioneer Spirit".City of Grand Island website.
Retrieved 2011-09-05. it was decided that a church should be built. The

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donated the land in Grand Island in 1869 and a church, named St. Mary's, was built under the direction of the Rev. M.J. Ryan. The building, however, was destroyed by a windstorm before its dedication. A second attempt at building a church in 1873 was stopped because of an economic depression. A third attempt was initiated on February 17, 1877. The

cornerstone The cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation. All other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure. Over time ...

was laid on May 7; the building was completed in July, and the new church was dedicated in September 1877. It was a frame structure built on a brick foundation. The Rev. P.J. Erlach was named the parish's first resident pastor in that year. The parish continued to grow, and by the late 1880s a larger church was needed. The Rev. Wunibald Wolf was sent to Grand Island to build the church. Bishop James O’Connor of

laid the cornerstone for the new church on August 15, 1888; the building was dedicated on July 7, 1889 by the diocesan

vicar general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop's ...

, the Rev. R. Schaffel. The new brick and stone church measured , and featured two bell towers high; it cost $20,000 to build.

Diocese and cathedral

On March 8, 1912,

Pope Pius X Pope Pius X ( it, Pio X; born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto; 2 June 1835 – 20 August 1914) was head of the Catholic Church from 4 August 1903 to his death in August 1914. Pius X is known for vigorously opposing modernist interpretations of C ...

divided the Diocese of Omaha into two parts, establishing the Diocese of Kearney in western Nebraska. Four years later,

Pope Benedict XV Pope Benedict XV (Latin: ''Benedictus XV''; it, Benedetto XV), born Giacomo Paolo Giovanni Battista della Chiesa, name=, group= (; 21 November 185422 January 1922), was head of the Catholic Church from 1914 until his death in January 1922. His ...

added four additional counties to the new diocese. In 1917, the

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was moved from Kearney to Grand Island, and the diocese was renamed accordingly."History of the Diocese".

Retrieved 2011-09-05. St. Mary's Church, however, was considered inadequate for a cathedral. Bishop James Duffy studied building styles during his travels. He decided on the

Gothic Revival 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 ...

style and construction was begun in 1926 and completed in 1928. The new cathedral was designed by Brinkman & Hagan and was modeled after

Sainte-Chapelle The Sainte-Chapelle (; en, Holy Chapel) is a royal chapel in the Gothic style, within the medieval Palais de la Cité, the residence of the Kings of France until the 14th century, on the Île de la Cité in the River Seine in Paris, France. Co ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. Cardinal Patrick Hayes of

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consecrated the new cathedral on July 5, 1928. The parish continued to grow and in 1949 Blessed Sacrament parish was created on the north side of the city. The present

rectory A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of religion. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, parsonage, rectory or vicarage. Function A clergy house is typically ow ...

was completed in 1951. The old rectory and two other houses were used as a

convent A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

until the present convent was completed in 1967. The cathedral was redecorated in the 1950s and again in the 1980s. Old St. Mary's, which had been used as a gymnasium, was torn down in 1965. Two new parishes were created in Grand Island in 1973. St. Leo's was created in the southwest part of the city and Resurrection in the northwest. A new social hall was built on the site of the old St. Mary's School in 2001.

Gallery

File:Grand Island (Nebraska) cathedral cornerstone.JPG, Cornerstone File:Grand Island (Nebraska) cathedral from N.JPG, View from the north File:Grand Island (Nebraska) cathedral S detail 2.JPG, South windows File:Grand Island (Nebraska) cathedral interior 1.JPG , Cathedral Interior File:Grand Island (Nebraska) cathedral interior 2.JPG, Cathedral Interior

References

External links