St. Patrick Cathedral is the seat of the
Roman Catholic Diocese of El Paso
The Diocese of El Paso ( la, Dioecesis Elpasensis, es, Diócesis de El Paso) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in West Texas. Covering , it encompasses the Texas counties of El Paso, Brewster, Culber ...
,
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
.
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 ...
is located at 1118 N. Mesa Street, north of the downtown area. It 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 ...
for 668,000 Catholics in the diocese (80.8% of total population; as of the 2006 survey).
The cathedral parish operates one of El Paso's Catholic high schools,
Cathedral High School, and St. Patrick Elementary School adjacent to the church.
History
The church was designed by
Barnett, Haynes & Barnett
Barnett, Haynes & Barnett was a prominent architectural firm based in St. Louis, Missouri. Their credits include many familiar St. Louis landmarks, especially a number related to the local Catholic church. Their best-known building is pr ...
, an architectural firm from
St Louis
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
, Missouri.
It was built in the form of a
Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
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 ...
, in the
Italian Renaissance
The Italian Renaissance ( it, Rinascimento ) was a period in Italian history covering the 15th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Europe and marked the trans ...
style. In raising funds for the cathedral's construction, the diocese offered to allow the first group to raise $10,000 for the project to name the new cathedral. A group of Irish Catholic women met the challenge and chose
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 ...
as patron. At the time El Paso was a major center of the mining industry in the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, with many of the miners being Irish.
The ground was broken on April 8, 1914 and the church and 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 ...
were
blessed
Blessed may refer to:
* The state of having received a blessing
* Blessed, a title assigned by the Roman Catholic Church to someone who has been beatified
Film and television
* ''Blessed'' (2004 film), a 2004 motion picture about a supernatural ...
in a ceremony by Fr Edward Barry on November 12, 1916. The interior of the cathedral is adorned with Roman columns, elaborate
fresco
Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...
es that depict biblical scenes and the
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 ...
are carved in
bas-relief
Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...
on the interior walls. 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 paga ...
contains a 2.5-meter-tall statue of the
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 dev ...
with a large canopy over the altar, topped with a golden eagle. The church seats about 800 people for Mass. In
alcoves along the walls there are a picture of
Our Lady of Guadalupe
Our Lady of Guadalupe ( es, Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe), also known as the Virgin of Guadalupe ( es, Virgen de Guadalupe), is a Catholic title of Mary, mother of Jesus associated with a series of five Marian apparitions, which are believed t ...
and a life-size classical sculpture of St. Patrick. The
stained-glass windows
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 ...
depict scenes from the life of Jesus and the Church.
Saint Peter of Jesus Maldonado and the Cathedral
Because of the
anticlerical
Anti-clericalism is opposition to religious authority, typically in social or political matters. Historical anti-clericalism has mainly been opposed to the influence of Roman Catholicism. Anti-clericalism is related to secularism, which seeks to ...
laws due to the Mexican Constitution of 1917 and the
Mexican Revolution
The Mexican Revolution ( es, Revolución Mexicana) was an extended sequence of armed regional conflicts in Mexico from approximately 1910 to 1920. It has been called "the defining event of modern Mexican history". It resulted in the destruction ...
, the Catholic Church was increasingly suppressed by the governments of Presidents
Alvaro Obregon and
Plutarco Calles. Involvement in politics, freedom of worship and redress of grievances were severely curtailed and even denied to
bishops
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
,
priests
A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in p ...
,
deacons
A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...
and Catholic
laity
In religious organizations, the laity () consists of all members who are not part of the clergy, usually including any non-ordained members of religious orders, e.g. a nun or a lay brother.
In both religious and wider secular usage, a layperson ...
. Even prior to the end of the revolution, from 1914 to 1918, those aspiring to be priests found it impossible to study in Mexico, and studied abroad, usually in the United States, mostly in cities close to the U.S.-Mexican border.
El Paso
El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the seat of El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the 23rd-largest city in the U.S., the s ...
was especially popular because of its closeness to Mexico. During these years many
seminarian
A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...
s from northern Mexico studied in El Paso, and were
ordain
Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform var ...
ed to the priesthood there. One such was
Peter of Jesus Maldonado
Pedro de Jesús Maldonado Lucero (June 15, 1892 – February 11, 1937) was a Mexican diocesan priest who became the first canonized saint and martyr from Chihuahua City, Mexico.
Early life
Pedro de Jesús Maldonado was born in a neighborhoo ...
, who was ordained by Bishop Anthony J Schuler,
S.J., in the cathedral on January 25, 1918. Padre Maldonado returned to his native Chihuahua; he was beaten to death in 1937 at the hands of town authorities in Santa Isabel (at that time named General Trias), Chihuahua, for preaching the
Gospel
Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...
and teaching the catechism to the people there. He was buried in the
Cathedral of Chihuahua
The Metropolitan Cathedral Church of the Holy Cross, Our Lady of Regla, and St Francis of Assisi is the main ecclesiastical building of the Catholic Church in Chihuahua City, Chihuahua, Mexico. It is considered perhaps the finest example of co ...
, and
canonised
Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of ...
by
Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
on May 21, 2000 as one of the companions of
St Christopher Magallanes. A memorial in the
nave
The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...
of St. Patrick commemorates the event of his ordination.
Photo Gallery I - The Windows
Image:STP-ELP12.jpg, The Annunciation and The Immaculate Conception.
Image:STP-ELP1.jpg, Cana and The Death of St. Joseph
Image:STP-ELP11.jpg, The Sacred Heart and The Coronation of Our Lady
Image:STP-ELP13.jpg, The Presentation of Jesus and The Nativity
Image:STP-ELP2.jpg, The Sea of Galilee and The Baptism of Our Lord
Image:STP-ELP5.jpg, Jesus and the Children and The Anointing by Mary
Image:STP-ELP6.jpg, The Garden of Gethsemene and The Last Supper
Image:STP-ELP7.jpg, The Empty Tomb and The Crucifixion
Image:STP-ELP8.jpg, Pentecost and The Ascension
Image:STP-ELP19.jpg, The Great Commission
Image:STP-ELP22.jpg, Pontifical Window with the coat of arms of 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 ...
during whose reign the cathedral was dedicated
Photo Gallery II - Other Points of Interest
Image:STP-ELP.jpg, The Facade:Mosaic of St. Patrick
Image:STP-ELP3.jpg, Stations of the Cross: Station VIII
Image:STP-ELP4.jpg, Sculpture of St. Patrick
Image:STP-ELP21.jpg, Sculpture of St. Patrick: Detail
Image:STP-ELP9.jpg, The South Gallery and Organ
Image:STP-ELP10.jpg, The High Altar
Image:STP-ELP14.jpg, The Nave and Chancel
Image:STP-ELP15.jpg, The Marian Altar and Baptistry
Image:STP-ELP16.jpg, The Tabernacle
Image:STP-ELP17.jpg, The Cathedra
Image:STP-ELP18.jpg, The High Altar: The Sacred Heart Statue
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
Also included in the ''Borderlands'' series is additional information concerning El Paso and the cathedral.
External links
Official Cathedral SiteRoman Catholic Diocese of El Paso Official Site*
* Site in Spanish.
* Site in English.
"Cathedral's Beauty Pleases" .Borderlands: An El Paso Community College Project. Site in English.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cathedral Parish Of Saint Patrick in El Paso
Patrick El Paso
Buildings and structures in El Paso, Texas
Roman Catholic churches completed in 1916
Irish-American history and culture in Texas
Religion in El Paso, Texas
Tourist attractions in El Paso, Texas
20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United States