St. Joseph Co-Cathedral is a

Catholic 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 ...

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 ...

located in Thibodaux, Louisiana, United States. Along with the Cathedral of St. Francis de Sales in Houma it is the seat of the

Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

. It is also the oldest parish in the diocese. The church building and

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 ...

were 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 Saint Joseph's Co-Cathedral and Rectory on March 5, 1986 as part of the "Thibodaux Multiple Resource Area". wit
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History

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St. Joseph Parish first began to organize in 1813 and was founded as a mission to Assumption Church in Plattenville in 1817. Two years later a small wooden church building was constructed near the current church cemetery. The Rev. Antoine Potini was assigned as St. Joseph's first pastor. It is the oldest Catholic parish in the diocese and many of the other churches were founded from it and served by its priest. The Rev. Charles Menard had a brick church built in 1849 and it was destroyed by a fire in 1916. The relics of Saint Valerie survived the fire and are in the current church in a glass

sarcophagus A sarcophagus (plural sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a box-like funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek ...

. The present church was begun in 1920 during the pastorate of Msgr. Alexander Barbier. It was completed three years later in the Renaissance Revival style. The first Mass was celebrated on January 25, 1923. The ornamental marble and plaster work was added in 1931 and the final paint scheme was done in 1954. Two of the parish's that were created from St. Joseph include St. Genevieve Parish, that was established in 1959, and St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in 1970. On March 2, 1977

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his ...

established the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux. St. Francis de Sales Church in Houma became the cathedral of the new diocese and St. Joseph Church in Thibodaux became the co-cathedral. St. Joseph Life Center was built in 1985 to house the parish's administrative offices and community center. A major restoration of the co-cathedral church was completed in 2005.

Architecture

The exterior of St. Joseph Co-Cathedral is composed of pressed brick with stone trim. Two twin towers flank the main

façade A façade () (also written facade) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a Loanword, loan word from the French language, French (), which means 'frontage' or 'face'. In architecture, the façade of a building is often t ...

, which features a

rose window Rose window is often used as a generic term applied to a circular window, but is especially used for those found in Gothic cathedrals and churches. The windows are divided into segments by stone mullions and tracery. The term ''rose window'' w ...

. The roof is covered in

terra cotta Terracotta, terra cotta, or terra-cotta (; ; ), in its material sense as an earthenware substrate, is a clay-based unglazed or glazed ceramic where the fired body is porous. In applied art, craft, construction, and architecture, terracotta ...

tile. The main feature in the interior is the 34 foot (10.4 m) high Baldachin in the

apse In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an ''exedra''. In ...

. Symbols of the Four Evangelists are carved into its upper edge. The same symbols are found on the columns in the church. On the dome above are found the symbols of the Tree of Knowledge, the Tree of Life, a snake, an apple, and peacocks symbolizing the triumph and glory of the risen Christ. The coat of arms for

Pope Pius XI Pope Pius XI ( it, Pio XI), born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti (; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939), was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 to his death in February 1939. He was the first sovereign of Vatican City fro ...

and Archbishop John Shaw of

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

are also found there. The

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 portray the life of Christ and the seven

Sacraments A sacrament is a Christian rite that is recognized as being particularly important and significant. There are various views on the existence and meaning of such rites. Many Christians consider the sacraments to be a visible symbol of the real ...

. A crest appears on all the columns with an emblem of faith, hope, charity and the Ship of Life. They are above a cast of grapes and wheat, which symbolizes the Eucharist. File:St. Joseph Co-Cathedral interior - Thibodaux, Louisiana.JPG, View up the nave toward the sanctuary File:St. Joseph Co-Cathedral gallery - Thibodaux, Louisiana.JPG, Looking down the nave toward gallery File:St. Joseph Co-Cathedral St. Valeria relic - Thibodaux, Louisiana.JPG, Reliquary of St. Valerie File:St. Joseph Co-Cathedral ceiling - Thibodaux, Louisiana.JPG, Ceiling detail File:St. Joseph Co-Cathedral cathedra - Thibodaux, Louisiana.JPG, Cathadra File:St. Joseph Co-Cathedral Rectory - Thibodaux, Louisiana.JPG, Rectory

References

External links

Official Cathedral SiteDiocese of Houma-Thibodaux Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Joseph Co-Cathedral, Thibodaux, Louisiana Religious organizations established in 1817 Roman Catholic churches completed in 1923 Joseph Thibodaux Renaissance Revival architecture in Louisiana Buildings and structures in Thibodaux, Louisiana Churches in Lafourche Parish, Louisiana Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Louisiana 1817 establishments in the United States National Register of Historic Places in Lafourche Parish, Louisiana 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United States

History

Architecture

See also

References

External links