St. Patrick's 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 in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of

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. It is the seat of the

Archbishop of New York The Archbishop of New York is the head of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, who is responsible for looking after its spiritual and administrative needs. As the archdiocese is the metropolitan see of the ecclesiastical province encompass ...

as well as a

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

. The cathedral occupies a city block bounded by Fifth Avenue, Madison Avenue, 50th Street, and 51st Street, directly across from

Rockefeller Center Rockefeller Center is a large complex consisting of 19 commercial buildings covering between 48th Street and 51st Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The 14 original Art Deco buildings, commissioned by the Rockefeller family, span th ...

. Designed by James Renwick Jr., it is the largest Gothic Revival Catholic cathedral in North America. The cathedral was constructed starting in 1858 to accommodate the growing Archdiocese of New York and to replace St. Patrick's Old Cathedral. Work was halted in the early 1860s during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

; the cathedral was completed in 1878 and dedicated on May 25, 1879. The archbishop's house and rectory were added in the early 1880s, both by James Renwick Jr., and the spires were added in 1888. A

Lady chapel A Lady chapel or lady chapel is a traditional British English, British term for a chapel dedicated to "Our Lady", Mary, mother of Jesus, particularly those inside a cathedral or other large church (building), church. The chapels are also known as ...

designed by Charles T. Mathews was constructed from 1901 to 1906. The cathedral was consecrated on October 5, 1910, after all its debt had been paid off. Extensive restorations of the cathedral were conducted several times, including in the 1940s, 1970s, and 2010s. St. Patrick's Cathedral is clad in marble and has several dozen stained glass windows. It measures long, with a maximum width of at the

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building wi ...

s. The bronze doors that form the cathedral's main entrance on Fifth Avenue are flanked by towers with

spire A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples. A spire may have a square, circular, or polygonal plan, with a roughly conical or pyramidal shape. Spires a ...

s rising . The northern tower contains nineteen bells, and the interior has two pipe organs. Inside is a

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 ...

flanked by several chapels; two transepts; a

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ov ...

and

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''. ...

; and a crypt. East of the apse are the rectory, Lady chapel, and archbishop's residence facing Madison Avenue. The cathedral is a

New York City designated landmark The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting New York City's architecturally, historically, and cu ...

and is 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 ...

History

The Diocese of New York was founded by Pope Pius VII in 1808. St. Patrick's was founded shortly afterward to serve New York City's small, but growing, Catholic population, which could no longer fit in St. Peter's Church. A site was selected on Mulberry Street in what is now Lower Manhattan, and St. Patrick's Old Cathedral was dedicated in 1815. At the time, there were 15,000 Catholics in the diocese.

Early site history

In March 1810, the Rev. Father

Anthony Kohlmann Anthony Kohlmann (born Anton; July 13, 1771 – April 11, 1836) was an Alsatian Catholic priest, missionary, theologian, and Jesuit educator. He played a decisive role in the early formation of the Diocese of New York, where he was the ...

bought the land on which the present cathedral stands. The site was bounded by what is now Fifth Avenue on the west, 51st Street on the north, Madison Avenue to the east, and 50th Street on the south.Pitts, Carolyn. National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination. August 1976. National Park Service. The Jesuit community built a college on the site, which at the time was north of New York City proper. It contained a "fine old house" which was fitted with a chapel of St. Ignatius. In 1813, the Jesuits sold the lot to the Diocese of New York. The school closed in 1814 and the diocese gave the property to Dom Augustin LeStrange, the

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The ...

of a community of

Trappists The Trappists, officially known as the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance ( la, Ordo Cisterciensis Strictioris Observantiae, abbreviated as OCSO) and originally named the Order of Reformed Cistercians of Our Lady of La Trappe, are a ...

who were fleeing persecution by French authorities. In addition to a small monastic community, they looked after orphans. With the downfall of

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

, the Trappists returned to France in 1815, but the neighboring orphanage was maintained by the diocese into the late nineteenth century. In 1828, trustees of St. Patrick's, St. Peter's, and St. Mary's met to discuss the feasibility of establishing a burial ground at Fifth Avenue between 50th and 51st Streets. The trustees bought the property in 1829 but did not use it as a cemetery. Bishop

John Dubois John Dubois (french: Jean Dubois) served as the third bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of New York from 1826 until his death in 1842. He was the first Bishop of New York who was not Irish-born and, as of 2021, remains the only Bishop or Archb ...

reopened the chapel in 1840 for Catholics employed at the Deaf and Dumb Asylum and in the general neighborhood. A modest frame church was built for the parish of St. John the Evangelist and dedicated in 1841 by the Rev. John Hughes, administrator of the diocese. Tickets were sold to the dedication to ease the parish's debt, but the mortgage was foreclosed upon, and in 1844 the church was sold at auction. The church's pastor, the Rev. Felix Larkin, was said to have died from stress as a result. The Rev. Michael A. Curran was appointed to raise funds for the devastated parish and used an old college hall as a temporary church. Curran continued raising funds to buy back the church during the

Great Famine in Ireland The Great Famine ( ga, an Gorta Mór ), also known within Ireland as the Great Hunger or simply the Famine and outside Ireland as the Irish Potato Famine, was a period of starvation and disease in Ireland from 1845 to 1852 that constituted a ...

, eventually succeeding and taking the deed in his own name.

Planning

By the early 1840s, the number of Catholics in the Diocese of New York had increased to 200,000. As a result, several additional dioceses were created in New York state. Most of New York state's Catholics at the time were

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 ...

. The Diocese of New York was made an archdiocese by Pope Pius IX on July 19, 1850. Bishop John Joseph Hughes was raised to the level of archbishop soon afterward. As early as 1850, Hughes determined that the growing Archdiocese of New York needed a large cathedral to replace the older cathedral in Lower Manhattan. At the time, the Fifth Avenue site was still relatively rural. The site faced the gardens of

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

to the west, but the surrounding area was otherwise characterized by rocks and unopened streets. Even so, Hughes believed the site would grow into a populous business area. In 1853, Hughes announced that he had hired the firm Renwick & Rodrigue to design a cathedral on Fifth Avenue between 50th and 51st Streets. One partner in the firm, William Rodrigue, was Hughes's brother-in-law. The other partner, James Renwick Jr., was largely responsible for designing the new St. Patrick's Cathedral. Renwick spent three years in Europe to look for design influences for New York City's new Catholic cathedral. He took particular inspiration from the unfinished

Cologne Cathedral Cologne Cathedral (german: Kölner Dom, officially ', English: Cathedral Church of Saint Peter) is a Catholic cathedral in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Cologne and of the administration of the Archdiocese o ...

. Renwick & Rodrigue originally planned a larger cathedral than the structure that was ultimately built. Hughes requested in 1857 that the firm reduce the dimensions of the new cathedral. To make way for the clergy's and archbishop's residences, the ambulatory was removed from the plans. The area behind the

would have contained a chapel dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, but this was removed entirely. The numerous heavy buttresses in the design were also removed. Plans for the cathedral were finalized in 1858. To raise money for the effort, Hughes asked wealthy Catholics in the Archdiocese of New York to subscribe to a building fund for the new cathedral. One hundred and three subscribers donated $1,000 apiece, and two subscribers were non-Catholics. The first construction contracts for the new Fifth Avenue cathedral were issued in June 1858. The new St. Patrick's Cathedral was to take up the entire block bounded by Fifth and Madison Avenues between 50th and 51st Streets. The front facade on Fifth Avenue would have three large entrances, and the northwest and southwest corners of the cathedral would be topped by an octagonal spire. The interior was to be designed in a

cruciform Cruciform is a term for physical manifestations resembling a common cross or Christian cross. The label can be extended to architectural shapes, biology, art, and design. Cruciform architectural plan Christian churches are commonly describe ...

layout. The cathedral was to be built in the Gothic Revival style. In addition, an archbishop's house and a chapel would face Madison Avenue. At the time, there were numerous hospitals, asylums, and other public institutions along the nearby section of Fifth Avenue.

Construction

Initial work and hiatus

On August 15, 1858, 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 tim ...

was laid just south of the diocese's

orphanage An orphanage is a residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared for by their biological families. The parents may be deceased, absent, or ab ...

. A 22-year old Irish immigrant, Cormack McCall, laid the cornerstone in front of 100,000 spectators near the intersection of Fifth Avenue and 50th Street, though the precise location remains unclear. That October, the architects presented cost estimates for making the cathedral out of white marble, brown freestone, olive freestone, or granite. The white marble was the most expensive of the four options, with a projected cost of $850,000, and James Hall and William Joyce offered to supply the marble. Even so, Renwick recommended that St. Patrick's be constructed of white marble, citing its durability and beauty. The archdiocese formed a Bureau of Contracts, which first met in December 1858. The bureau awarded the marble contract to Hall and Joyce in March 1859; at the time, the work was supposed to be finished before January 1, 1867. The cost estimate of $867,500 for the entire cathedral () was unusually low for a project of that size. Construction progressed for two years after the cornerstone was laid. The work consisted of laying stone blocks for the

foundation Foundation may refer to: * Foundation (nonprofit), a type of charitable organization ** Foundation (United States law), a type of charitable organization in the U.S. ** Private foundation, a charitable organization that, while serving a good cause ...

, each weighing between one and four tons. The foundation was excavated to a maximum depth of , where it laid on solid rock. The excavations were relatively small because the underlying layer of bedrock was shallow, rising nearly to the surface near the

on Fifth Avenue. White-marble walls were then constructed above the foundation. By January 1860, the cathedral had been erected to about above ground level. Work was slightly delayed by a stonecutters' strike that March. The walls had reached the

water table The water table is the upper surface of the zone of saturation. The zone of saturation is where the pores and fractures of the ground are saturated with water. It can also be simply explained as the depth below which the ground is saturated. T ...

when all $73,000 in funds had been exhausted. As a result, in August 1860, Hughes decided to suspend all work on the new cathedral. When work was suspended, the walls had been built to an average height of above ground. The onset of the

in 1861 prevented the resumption of work for several years. Hughes died in January 1864 before the work could resume.

John McCloskey John McCloskey (March 10, 1810 – October 10, 1885) was a senior-ranking American prelate of the Catholic Church. He was the first American born Archbishop of New York from 1864 until his death in 1885, having previously served as Bishop o ...

was appointed to succeed Hughes as archbishop. McCloskey created a plan to finance the construction of the new St. Patrick's Cathedral.

Completion

By mid-1866, work had again resumed and the walls had been built to above ground. The ''

Brooklyn Daily Eagle :''This article covers both the historical newspaper (1841–1955, 1960–1963), as well as an unrelated new Brooklyn Daily Eagle starting 1996 published currently'' The ''Brooklyn Eagle'' (originally joint name ''The Brooklyn Eagle'' and ''King ...

'' reported that the interior "looks like a large field" and said the cathedral would be "worthy to be regarded as one of the wonders of the Republic". Some $100,000 was spent on the Catholic cathedral in 1867, and the constituent churches of the Archdiocese of New York promised to spend $100,000 a year until the cathedral was complete. Most funding for the cathedral came from the parishioners of these churches, who were mainly poor Irish immigrants. An editorial in the ''

New York World The ''New York World'' was a newspaper published in New York City from 1860 until 1931. The paper played a major role in the history of American newspapers. It was a leading national voice of the Democratic Party. From 1883 to 1911 under pub ...

'' described the cathedral as being constructed "not of the superfluity of wealth, but for the most part out of the offerings of poverty". The cathedral's masonry was laid during summer as the stonework could not be laid in the cold. By late 1870, the marble walls had been built to a height of and the

was finished. The entrance on Fifth Avenue, measuring tall, had also been finished. Over a hundred workers were busy quarrying marble from Pleasantville, north of New York City. The marble was transported down to New York City via the

Harlem Railroad The New York and Harlem Railroad (now the Metro-North Railroad's Harlem Line) was one of the first railroads in the United States, and was the world's first street railway. Designed by John Stephenson, it was opened in stages between 1832 and ...

, where a branch track led to the new cathedral's site. The construction of the new cathedral drew relatively little interest for New York City's non-Catholic population, though several commentators praised the cathedral's design. An anonymous author for the ''Real Estate Record and Guide'' wrote that the new St. Patrick's Cathedral was the "most gorgeous ecclesiastical edifice on this continent", though the critics perceived the

buttress A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient buildings, as a means of providing support to act against the lateral ( ...

es on the north and south sides of the facade as "altogether unnecessary". A reporter for the ''New York World'', probably

Montgomery Schuyler Montgomery Schuyler AIA, (August 19, 1843, Ithaca, New York – July 16, 1914, New Rochelle, New York) was a highly influential critic, journalist and editorial writer in New York City who wrote about and influenced art, literature, music ...

, wrote in 1871 that the cathedral would be "one of the leading ecclesiastical structures in the world". The trustees of St. Patrick's Cathedral borrowed $300,000 from the Emigrant Industrial Savings Bank for the new cathedral in 1874. The trustees gave the bank a first mortgage on the cathedral and site as a

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for the loan. By late 1875, the roof had been covered with slate and all of the walls were finished, except for a small portion along Fifth Avenue. The trustees borrowed another $100,000 from the Emigrant Bank in 1876. Late that year, temporary scaffolding was erected so the interior could be plastered and decorated. Almost all the stained glass had been delivered and was being glazed; four of these windows had been exhibited at the

Centennial Exposition The Centennial International Exhibition of 1876, the first official World's Fair to be held in the United States, was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from May 10 to November 10, 1876, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the signing of the ...

. Only one worker had been killed during the construction process, according to the ''American Architect and Building News,'' due to his own carelessness. McCloskey made contracts for furnishings in 1874 and again in 1878. On November 29, 1877, the incomplete St. Patrick's Cathedral was opened for public viewing. A one-month-long fundraiser for the cathedral commenced on October 22, 1878. In its first three weeks, the fundraiser had an average daily attendance of between ten and eleven thousand. The fair ran for 36 nights and attracted about 250,000 total visitors when it closed on November 30. Forty-five parishes of the Archdiocese of New York had exhibits at the fair. The fundraiser sought to raise $200,000 for the cathedral, but it ultimately netted $173,000. Several months elapsed before the cathedral was readied for its dedication in early 1879.

Opening and late 19th century

The new St. Patrick's Cathedral opened on May 25, 1879. Thirty-five bishops and six archbishops attended the dedication. St. Patrick's was met with a generally positive reception from the media. The '' Baltimore Sun'', for example, called it the "finest church edifice on the American continent". Not all critics spoke of the cathedral positively; journalist

Clarence Cook Clarence Chatham Cook (September 8, 1828 – June 2, 1900) was a 19th-century American author and art critic. Born in Dorchester, Massachusetts, Cook graduated from Harvard in 1849 and worked as a teacher. Between 1863 and 1869, Cook wrote a serie ...

authored a criticism that architectural historian

Robert A. M. Stern Robert Arthur Morton Stern, usually credited as Robert A. M. Stern (born May 23, 1939), is a New York City–based architect, educator, and author. He is the founding partner of the architecture firm, Robert A.M. Stern Architects, also known a ...

characterized as being "underpinned with religious and ethnic bigotry". Cook perceived the facade as being full of "clumsy repetition", but he wrote of the interior: "Words cannot express the paltry character of the internal finish of this vaunted structure." The new St. Patrick's Cathedral and Temple Emanu-El comprised the first non-Protestant houses of worship on the midtown section of Fifth Avenue. At the time, the cathedral was far removed from the developed portions of the city. The first bishop consecrated in the new cathedral was the Michael J. O'Farrell of

Trenton, New Jersey Trenton is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. It was the capital of the United States from November 1 to December 24, 1784.Diocese of Trenton. The cathedral's

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

originally extended from Seventh Avenue to the

East River The East River is a saltwater tidal estuary in New York City. The waterway, which is actually not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates the borough of Queens ...

between 46th and 59th Streets, and the section between Madison and

Sixth Avenue Sixth Avenue – also known as Avenue of the Americas, although this name is seldom used by New Yorkers, p.24 – is a major thoroughfare in New York City's borough of Manhattan, on which traffic runs northbound, or "uptown". It is commercial ...

s extended to 42nd Street. In 1880, the section between

Third Avenue Third Avenue is a north-south thoroughfare on the East Side of the New York City borough of Manhattan, as well as in the center portion of the Bronx. Its southern end is at Astor Place and St. Mark's Place. It transitions into Cooper Square ...

and the East River was split to the parish of St. John the Evangelist. During the early 1880s, Renwick designed the archbishop's house and rectory on Madison Avenue. The ''Real Estate Record and Guide'' reported in December 1881 that Renwick had been hired to build a rectory at the southwest corner of Madison Avenue and 51st Street. Shortly afterward, Renwick filed plans for a four-story marble rectory on the site, to be built by E. D. Connoly & Son and P. Walsh. The archbishop's house was completed the same year. The rectory was completed on May 8, 1884. A critic for the ''Real Estate Record'' characterized the rectory and archbishop's house as having "absurd" dormer windows in their

mansard roof A mansard or mansard roof (also called a French roof or curb roof) is a four-sided gambrel-style hip roof characterised by two slopes on each of its sides, with the lower slope, punctured by dormer windows, at a steeper angle than the upper. The ...

s. A memorial marble pulpit was manufactured in Italy and installed in the cathedral in October 1885. The money for the pulpit came from the clergy of the archdiocese, who had offered Cardinal McCloskey $10,000 for his

golden jubilee A golden jubilee marks a 50th anniversary. It variously is applied to people, events, and nations. Bangladesh In Bangladesh, golden jubilee refers the 50th anniversary year of the separation from Pakistan and is called in Bengali ''"সু ...

and commissioned the pulpit after he had declined the prize. A lack of funding precluded spires from being installed when the cathedral was completed. By late 1885, spires were planned to be installed at a cost of $190,000. Renwick filed plans for the cathedral spires in September 1885, and the contract was awarded to George Mann & Co. of

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. Excavation of the stone commenced in January 1886 and the spires were constructed starting that September. The last stones of the spires were erected in October 1888, at which point the cathedral was considered completed. At the time several hundred niches remained to be filled with figures, and ten chapels did not have their altars yet. At , the spires were the tallest structures in New York City. ''The Evening World'' said the construction of the spires "completes a notable ornament to the city". Within a year, the cathedral was surpassed in height by the

New York World Building The New York World Building (also the Pulitzer Building) was a building in the Civic Center of Manhattan in New York City, along Park Row between Frankfort Street and the Brooklyn Bridge. Part of the former " Newspaper Row", it was designed by ...

, whose spire rose to . The funding shortages at the building's completion had also required that a "temporary" plaster and wood ceiling be installed atop the cathedral, rather than the marble or brick ceiling that Renwick had conceived. The cathedral never replaced the plaster-and-wood ceiling. After the spires were finished, the trustees of St. Patrick's Cathedral decided that bells should be installed in one tower. No arrangements had yet been made for the bells because parts of the project, such as interior design, remained incomplete. The cathedral tested a set of four bells in the north tower in July and August 1889 to determine the tower's acoustic properties. The altar of the Holy Family was consecrated at the cathedral in 1893. A set of bells for the cathedral was manufactured in the United States. After the archbishop consecrated them, the bells were found to be defective and were never hung in the belfry. In 1895, the cathedral ordered a second set of bells to be made by the Paccards in France. The new bells were blessed by Archbishop

Michael Corrigan Michael Augustine Corrigan (August 13, 1839May 5, 1902) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as the third archbishop of New York from 1885 to 1902. Early life Michael Augustine Corrigan was born August 13, 1839, in Ne ...

on August 15, 1897, though they had not been installed yet. The framework for the bells was installed in the north tower the next month. At the time of their completion, St. Patrick's bells were the largest of any church in the city; by comparison, Trinity Church had ten bells and Grace Church had nine. Also in 1897, the Spiritual Sons of De La Salle funded a new altar for the cathedral.

20th century

Lady chapel and consecration

Margaret A. Kelly, widow of banker

Eugene Kelly Eugene Kelly (born 9 August 1965) Eugene Kelly allmusic biography. is a Scottish musician who is a member of the group The Vaselines, a founding member of the now disbanded Eugenius and has had a number of solo releases. Eugene Kelly formed The ...

, died in 1899 and left $200,000 to the cathedral for the construction of a

, on the condition that the chapel not be constructed until after her death. Kelly's sons pledged additional funds for the chapel as necessary. The next year, the trustees of St. Patrick's Cathedral held an

architectural design competition An architectural design competition is a type of design competition in which an organization that intends on constructing a new building invites architects to submit design proposals. The winning design is usually chosen by an independent panel ...

for the chapel, east of the cathedral's

. The trustees received submissions from American, Canadian, French, and British architects before giving the commission to Charles T. Mathews of New York City. After traveling to Europe to study architectural influences, Mathews prepared plans for the chapel by September 1900. Work on the Lady chapel began in July 1901. Archbishop Corrigan was simultaneously paying off the debt on the cathedral with the intention of consecrating it after all the debts were paid off in 1908. This date was the centennial of the Archdiocese of New York's founding and the 50-year anniversary of the groundbreaking ceremony. However, he died in 1902 before the consecration or the retirement of the debt. Following a construction delay of more than one year, the Lady chapel was nearly complete by early 1905. The first Mass in the Lady chapel took place in Christmas 1906, but the interior furnishings were not complete until 1908. The chapel cost $800,000 in total. Additional changes to the cathedral took place in the first decade of the 20th century. These included the construction of an altar to St. Michael on the left side of the Lady chapel, as well as an altar to St. Joseph on the right side. By 1907, a movable bronze screen was to be installed at the transept, and the temporary wooden floor dating from the cathedral's construction was planned to be replaced with a permanent marble floor. The bronze screens were a gift to celebrate the archdiocese's centennial, which almost every archbishop in the United States celebrated at the cathedral in April 1908. The Lady chapel was originally outfitted with transparent windows, though its

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 were manufactured in Europe starting in 1909. In the first half of 1910, the cathedral's debt of $800,000 was completely paid off. St. Patrick's Cathedral was consecrated on October 5, 1910, with Archbishop

John Murphy Farley John Murphy Farley (April 20, 1842 – September 17, 1918) was an Irish-American cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of New York from 1902 until his death in 1918, and became a cardinal in 1911. Early life and educatio ...

officiating. By that time, the surrounding area was quickly being developed.

1920s through 1940s

Monsignor Michael J. Lavelle started raising $625,000 from the congregation in 1926 to renovate the cathedral. The next year, Robert J. Reiley was hired to conduct renovations, including replacing the wooden floor with a marble floor. The floor was replaced between April and December 1927. The old organ was also replaced and new stained-glass windows, altar, and pews were being installed in the Lady chapel. The sanctuary was extended approximately , the metal communion rail was replaced with a bronze and marble rail, and the wooden throne was replaced with one of marble.

Amplifier An amplifier, electronic amplifier or (informally) amp is an electronic device that can increase the magnitude of a signal (a time-varying voltage or current). It may increase the power significantly, or its main effect may be to boost the v ...

s, wrought-iron doors, and new bronze chandeliers were installed. New pews were also installed, as were two new organs. English stained glass artist and designer Paul Vincent Woodroffe completed the Lady chapel's remaining windows by late 1930. With the

construction of Rockefeller Center The construction of the Rockefeller Center complex in New York City was conceived as an urban renewal project in the late 1920s, spearheaded by John D. Rockefeller Jr. to help revitalize Midtown Manhattan. Rockefeller Center is on one of Colum ...

to the west, several trees were planted around the cathedral in 1939 to complement Rockefeller Center's trees. The cathedral's rectory was closed in April 1940 for the first major renovation in its history, and it reopened that December. Archbishop

Francis Spellman Francis Joseph Spellman (May 4, 1889 – December 2, 1967) was an American bishop and cardinal of the Catholic Church. From 1939 until his death in 1967, he served as the sixth Archbishop of New York; he had previously served as an auxiliary ...

announced in February 1941 that an anonymous donor had provided funding for a new high altar, to be designed by Charles Maginnis. According to Spellman's announcement, the original high altar had been "architecturally inconsistent" with the cathedral's design ever since the Lady chapel was completed, but a lack of funds had prevented the altar's replacement for four decades. The

reredos A reredos ( , , ) is a large altarpiece, a screen, or decoration placed behind the altar in a church. It often includes religious images. The term ''reredos'' may also be used for similar structures, if elaborate, in secular architecture, for ex ...

behind the original high altar blocked the view of the Lady chapel from the nave, but the cathedral's trustees wished to avoid this. The old main altar was removed in February 1942 and the new main altar of St. Patrick's Cathedral was consecrated that May. A new altar in the Lady chapel, donated by George J. Gillespie, was also consecrated in May 1942. The

George A. Fuller Company George A. Fuller (1851 – December 14, 1900) was an American architect often credited as being the "inventor" of modern skyscrapers and the modern contracting system. Early life and career Fuller was born in Templeton, Massachusetts, near W ...

started renovating the exterior in August 1945 after blasting for a nearby building dislodged a stone from the facade. The main doorway was narrowed, and some of the projecting Gothic ornamentation was eliminated because they were prone to cracks in New York City's climate, which was characterized by abrupt temperature decreases. A bronze cross was placed atop the north tower, replacing the original stone cross there. The project involved 350 workers at its peak. Some funds for the renovation came from a 1946 bequest of $100,000 from radio personality

Major Bowes Edward Bowes (June 14, 1874 – June 13, 1946), professionally known as Major Edward Bowes, was an American radio personality of the 1930s and 1940s whose ''Major Bowes Amateur Hour'' was the best-known amateur talent show on radio during its 18 ...

. By early 1947, the project was completed except for the Lady Chapel and a set of new entrance doors. An anonymous donor gave the cathedral a $25,000 window, which was designed by Charles J. Connick Associates and unveiled in April 1947. Work began on an interior renovation in mid-1948, with 17 of the cathedral's 19 altars being replaced. Cardinal

blessed the new bronze doors in December 1949.

1950s to 1990s

Detail of the facade of St Patrick's Cathedral in New York City

In 1952, St. Patrick's Cathedral received five gifts. These funded the electrification of the cathedral chimes; an elevator to the main organ; kneeling cushions and guard cords in the pews; and new stained-glass windows. The windows, depicting 12 male and 12 female saints, were installed at the clerestory in 1954. These windows were funded by a bequest by

Atlas Portland Cement Company The Atlas Portland Cement Company, based in Northampton, Pennsylvania, was one of the largest cement companies of the world. Founded in Northampton in 1895, Atlas operated there until 1982 when it was bought out. It manufactured Portland cement, ...

president John R. Morron, who left $200,000 for the archdiocese in his will. The cathedral celebrated the 100th anniversary of its cornerstone-laying in 1958. At the time, the cathedral had over three million visitors a year. St. Patrick's celebrated the 50th anniversary of its consecration two years later. The

New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting New York City's architecturally, historically, and cu ...

(LPC) considered designating St. Patrick's Cathedral as a New York City landmark in early 1966. Later that year, the LPC designated the cathedral as a New York City Landmark. Under Cardinal

Terence Cooke Terence James Cooke (March 1, 1921 – October 6, 1983) was an American cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of New York from 1968 until his death, quietly battling leukemia throughout his tenure. He was named a cardin ...

's leadership, the interior of St. Patrick's Cathedral was restored starting in 1972. That June, workers placed scaffolding on the cathedral to protect it from damage due to blasting for the construction of

Olympic Tower Olympic Tower is a 51-story, building at 641 and 645 Fifth Avenue, between 51st and 52nd Streets, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), the mixed-use development contains ...

across 51st Street. Afterward, over 100 workers cleaned and painted the interior while the cathedral remained open. The $800,000 project was completed in April 1973. The cathedral close, consisting of all structures on the same block as the cathedral, was listed on the

and declared a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

in 1976. St. Patrick's Cathedral celebrated the centennial of its opening in May 1979. The cathedral's popularity was attributed to its location in midtown, and about 6,000 people attended Mass on Sundays, ninety percent of whom were visitors. The cathedral's exterior was cleaned the same year. Further restoration began in 1984 during the episcopate of Cardinal John O'Connor. As part of the work, most of the roof was replaced, and the entrance steps, doors, and walls were also repaired. The cathedral's two organs were restored in the mid-1990s.

21st century

Under Cardinal

Edward Egan Edward Michael Egan (April 2, 1932 – March 5, 2015) was an American cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Bridgeport in Connecticut from 1988 to 2000 and as archbishop of the Archdiocese of New York i ...

, another renovation of the cathedral was planned in 2006 after chunks of rock started falling from the facade. The project was conducted between 2012 and 2015 at a cost of $177 million. The renovation was designed by Murphy Burnham & Buttrick and led by construction manager Structure Tone. The renovation involved cleaning the exterior marble, repairing stained-glass windows, painting the ceiling, and replacing the flooring and steps. In addition, the bronze doors were renovated and reinstalled. Work was completed by September 17, 2015, before

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

visited the cathedral the next week. The scaffolding was removed in July 2016. The cathedral and the renovations were featured on WNET's television program ''Treasures of New York''. The LPC approved a garage on the 50th Street side of the cathedral in late 2015. The garage was designed to provide a secure entrance for Cardinal

Timothy M. Dolan Timothy Michael Dolan (born February 6, 1950) is an American cardinal of the Catholic Church. He is the tenth and current Archbishop of New York, having been appointed by Pope Benedict XVI in 2009. Dolan served as the president of the United S ...

. In 2017, MBB Architects and Structure Tone, Landmark Facilities Group, and P.W. Grosser completed a new geothermal system under St. Patrick's Cathedral, believed to be the largest in New York City. The gardens adjoining the cathedral to the north and south were excavated for the system's construction, and they were replanted after installation was complete. The same October, a shrine to the Lebanese

Maronite The Maronites ( ar, الموارنة; syr, ܡܖ̈ܘܢܝܐ) are a Christian ethnoreligious group native to the Eastern Mediterranean and Levant region of the Middle East, whose members traditionally belong to the Maronite Church, with the larges ...

Saint

Charbel Makhlouf Charbel Makhlouf, Lebanese Maronite Order, O.L.M. ( ar, شربل مخلوف, May 8, 1828 – December 24, 1898), born Youssef Antoun Makhlouf and venerated as Saint Charbel, was a Maronite Church, Maronite monk and priesthood (Catholic Church), p ...

was dedicated at St. Patrick's Cathedral. The cathedral was temporarily closed for in-person Mass in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City. The pandemic severely reduced the cathedral's finances as much of its income came from donations at Mass and the archdiocese did not fund the cathedral's maintenance. It was reopened for full-capacity worship in May 2021.

Main structure

St. Patrick's Cathedral was designed by James Renwick Jr. with influences from

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

, French, and German Gothic architecture. It is the largest Gothic Revival Catholic cathedral in North America, as well as the first major Gothic Revival cathedral in the United States. St. Patrick's Cathedral was described by

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...

in 2020 as being an "essential part of New York City's architectural heritage". The cathedral serves as the seat for the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York The Archdiocese of New York ( la, Archidiœcesis Neo-Eboracensis) is an ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church ( particularly the Roman Catholic or Latin Church) located in the State of New York. It encompasses the borough ...

and as a

for the archdiocese within

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, over five million people visited the cathedral each year. The foundation stones are made of blue

gneiss Gneiss ( ) is a common and widely distributed type of metamorphic rock. It is formed by high-temperature and high-pressure metamorphic processes acting on formations composed of igneous or sedimentary rocks. Gneiss forms at higher temperatures an ...

granite set within cement mortar. The lowest horizontal course of the facade, as well as the lowest course under all the interior columns. is made of Dix Island granite from Maine. The exterior is clad in marble quarried in

Lee, Massachusetts Lee is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts, metropolitan statistical area. The population was 5,788 at the 2020 census. Lee, which includes the villages of South and East Lee, is p ...

, and

Pleasantville, New York Pleasantville is a village in the town of Mount Pleasant, in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is located 30 miles north of Manhattan. The village population was 7,019 at the 2010 census. Pleasantville is home to the secondary camp ...

. The main section of the cathedral is made of

Tuckahoe marble Tuckahoe marble (also known as Inwood and Westchester marble) is a type of marble found in southern New York (state), New York state and western Connecticut. Part of the Inwood Formation (New York), Inwood Formation of the Manhattan Prong, it dates ...

. Behind the marble blocks are walls made of brick and stone laid in rough masonry, with hollow gaps for ventilation. The blocks were so closely laid that, decades after the cathedral's completion, no cracks had formed in them. The side walls are between thick, and the

clerestory In architecture, a clerestory ( ; , also clearstory, clearstorey, or overstorey) is a high section of wall that contains windows above eye level. Its purpose is to admit light, fresh air, or both. Historically, ''clerestory'' denoted an upper l ...

walls above the nave are 3 feet thick. Part of the interior is made of artificial Coignet stone. The marble for the spires was sourced from

Cockeysville, Maryland Cockeysville is a census-designated place (CDP) in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The population was 20,776 at the 2010 census. History Cockeysville was named after the Cockey family who helped establish the town. Thomas Cockey (1676� ...

, and the roof has 343

finial A finial (from '' la, finis'', end) or hip-knob is an element marking the top or end of some object, often formed to be a decorative feature. In architecture, it is a small decorative device, employed to emphasize the Apex (geometry), apex of a d ...

s. There are 103 windows on the cathedral in total. The windows are glazed by two thicknesses of sash and glass, set apart, to regulate interior temperatures and prevent air drafts. The exterior sashes are glazed with figured glass in lead sash, while the interior sashes are glazed with stained glass. The windows of the clerestory were made by Morgan Brothers. The cathedral had been constructed with 57 stained-glass windows: 37 representing scenes from Scripture and 20 representing geometrical shapes. Forty-five of the original windows were manufactured by Nicholas Lorin and Henry Ely in France. Other stained glass windows were added later. Renwick's original sketches show that the tracery near each window was designed with two grooves: one for stained glass and one for protective glazing.

Location and dimensions

St. Patrick's Cathedral is in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. It takes up a full city block bounded by Fifth Avenue to the west, 51st Street to the north, Madison Avenue to the east, and 50th Street to the south. Clockwise from northwest, the cathedral is directly across from

, 11 East 51st Street, and 488 Madison Avenue to the north; the

Villard Houses The Villard Houses are a set of former residences comprising a historic landmark at 451–457 Madison Avenue between 50th and 51st Streets in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Designed by the architect Joseph Morrill Wells ...

and

Lotte New York Palace Hotel Lotte New York Palace Hotel is a luxury hotel in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, at the corner of 50th Street (Manhattan), 50th Street and Madison Avenue. It was originally developed between 1977 and 1980 by Harry Helmsley. ...

to the east; 18 East 50th Street and the

Saks Fifth Avenue flagship store The Saks Fifth Avenue flagship store is a department store in Midtown Manhattan, New York City on Fifth Avenue between 49th and 50th Streets. The original 10-story structure at 611 Fifth Avenue has served as the flagship store of Saks Fifth Ave ...

to the south; and the International Building of

to the west. St. Patrick's is directly across from the ''Atlas'' statue at the International Building. St. Patrick's is oriented west–east relative to the street grid and has a

plan. From west to east, the cathedral contains a

;

s extending to the north and south; and a

sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a saf ...

and

. The entire structure measures long as measured along the exterior buttresses. The cathedral is wide at the transepts. The main facade is oriented west along Fifth Avenue, with two towers measuring wide and tall, flanking a central section wide. To the north and south are planted gardens, which contain ten manholes for the cathedral's subterranean geothermal system. The cathedral's total length is . The cathedral's interior was designed to accommodate 14,000 seated guests or 19,000 in total. It has a seating capacity for about 2,400 congregants. There are about 300 wooden

pew A pew () is a long bench seat or enclosed box, used for seating members of a congregation or choir in a church, synagogue or sometimes a courtroom. Overview The first backless stone benches began to appear in English churches in the thirt ...

s ranging from wide. The underground geothermal system consists of ten wells, each deep, which could concurrently send hot and cold air to separate sections of the cathedral. The system is capable of producing of heat and of air conditioning hourly. The geothermal system uses a computer to send cool or warm air based on thermostat readings. Heat and cool air are pumped through four water loops.

Western facade

Central gable and doors

The central portion of the Fifth Avenue facade contains a

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

, which leads into the

narthex The narthex is an architectural element typical of early Christian and Byzantine basilicas and churches consisting of the entrance or lobby area, located at the west end of the nave, opposite the church's main altar. Traditionally the narthex ...

. The main entrance is an archway at the base of the gable, measuring wide and tall. The actual entrance portal is recessed about into the archway and contains the main doors. The top of the portal is slightly pointed, with carved

spandrel A spandrel is a roughly triangular space, usually found in pairs, between the top of an arch and a rectangular frame; between the tops of two adjacent arches or one of the four spaces between a circle within a square. They are frequently fill ...

panels on either side. Above is a marble transom bar as well as elaborate floral tracery. The portal is flanked by decorative

jamb A jamb (from French ''jambe'', "leg"), in architecture, is the side-post or lining of a doorway or other aperture. The jambs of a window outside the frame are called “reveals.” Small shafts to doors and windows with caps and bases are known ...

s, which in turn are topped by foliage capitals. Atop the jambs are a set of

es, which converge to form pointed arches. A gablet rises over the main portal and contains tracery paneling and a shield bearing the arms of the Archdiocese of New York. The main entrance originally contained a pair of square-headed marble doors. The current bronze doors were designed by Charles Maginnis and sculpted by John Angel, and they were installed in 1949. Each door is and weighs . The main doors are generally kept open to welcome visitors; to save energy, a second set of glass pocket doors is installed directly behind. The main doors are decorated with

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 ...

sculptures representing three men and three women, with inscriptions indicating their significance to the cathedral and with particular focus on missionary work and assistance for migrants: *

St. Joseph Joseph (; el, Ἰωσήφ, translit=Ioséph) was a 1st-century Jewish man of Nazareth who, according to the canonical Gospels, was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus. The Gospels also name some brothers ...

, "patron of the Church" (top left) * St. Patrick, "patron of this Church" (top right) * St. Isaac Jogues Martyr, "first atholicpriest in New York" (middle left) * St. Frances X Cabrini, "mother of the immigrant" (middle right) * St. Kateri Tekakwitha, "lily of the Mohawks" (bottom left) * Mother Elizabeth Seton, "daughter of New York" (bottom right) Above the central opening is a

balustrade A baluster is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its con ...

made of rich pierced tracery; it contains a row of niches, measuring high, for statues. These niches are decorated by columns with foliage capitals and gablets, with tracery and finials. The niches depict six

archangel Archangels () are the second lowest rank of angel in the hierarchy of angels. The word ''archangel'' itself is usually associated with the Abrahamic religions, but beings that are very similar to archangels are found in a number of other relig ...

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian an ...

Gabriel In Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam), Gabriel (); Greek: grc, Γαβριήλ, translit=Gabriḗl, label=none; Latin: ''Gabriel''; Coptic: cop, Ⲅⲁⲃⲣⲓⲏⲗ, translit=Gabriêl, label=none; Amharic: am, ገብር� ...

Uriel Uriel or Auriel ( he, אוּרִיאֵל ''ʾŪrīʾēl'', " El/God is my flame"; el, Οὐριήλ ''Oúriēl''; cop, ⲟⲩⲣⲓⲏⲗ ''Ouriēl''; it, Uriele; Geʽez and Amharic: or ) is the name of one of the archangels who is mentio ...

Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of works by Raphael, His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of ...

, Chamuel, and

Jophiel The angel Jophiel ( Heb. ''Yōp̄īʾēl'', "God is my beauty"), also called ''Iophiel'', ''Iofiel'', ''Jofiel'', ''Yofiel'', ''Youfiel'', Zophiel ( ''Ṣōp̄īʾēl'', "God is my watchman") and Zuriel ( ''Ṣūrīʾēl'', "God is my rock"), is ...

. Above these niches is 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 ...

, measuring in diameter and designed by

Charles Connick Charles Jay Connick (1875–1945) was a prominent American painter, muralist, and designer best known for his work in stained glass in the Gothic Revival style. Born in Springboro, Pennsylvania, Connick eventually settled in the Boston area where ...

. The rose window is blue with red, green, white, and gold panels. The window depicts eight types of leaves at its center, as well as

trefoil A trefoil () is a graphic form composed of the outline of three overlapping rings, used in architecture and Christian symbolism, among other areas. The term is also applied to other symbols with a threefold shape. A similar shape with four rin ...

s with white doves. The main gable is carried up to the roof lines, terminating at a

cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, around the top edge of a ...

with

crockets A crocket (or croquet) is a small, independent decorative element common in Gothic architecture. The name derives from the diminutive of the French ''croc'', meaning "hook", due to the resemblance of crockets to a bishop's crosier. Description ...

that support a foliated cross. On either side of the jambs of the central window are buttresses, terminated by pinnacles, and between these and the buttresses of the tower are rich Gothic panels, terminated by crocketed gablets.

Towers

The towers on either side of the central gable measure at the base and retain this square cross-section to a height of . The walls of the towers along Fifth Avenue are thick. The ground story of the towers has portals similar in design to that at the center, but there are shields in the central panel of each gablet. The shield in the left tower has the arms of the United States and the shield in the right tower has the arms of New York. The second story, at the same height as the rose window, has molded jambs and tracery and is topped by gablets with tracery. The third story has four small windows on each side, topped by a cornice and pierced

battlement A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (i.e., a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at interva ...

. The towers are flanked by massive buttresses decorated with tabernacles, and the tops of the towers' square portions have clustered pinnacles. Above the square cross-sections are octagonal lanterns measuring tall. Circular stone stairways and a chime of bells were installed in the towers. The towers are topped by spires measuring high. The spires are composed of two tiers with elaborate molding and tracery; the upper tier of each tower had a foliate finial above it. The spires were also planned with octagonal cross-sections, tapering from a base measuring across to a pinnacle measuring across. Also planned within the spires were floors, constructed at intervals of .

Nave

The nave is about long as measured from the Fifth Avenue facade. It measures wide if chapels are not included, or around wide if the chapels in the side aisles are included. The nave consists of a center aisle and two side aisles running west–east. The center aisle is wide and high while the side aisles are wide and high. Internally, the nave is divided into seven bays from west to east. The westernmost bay is part of the towers along Fifth Avenue and the easternmost bay is part of the transept. The westernmost bay is wide and the other bays are wide. Just inside the entrances within the westernmost bay are busts of

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...

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 ...

, and

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 ...

, all of whom have previously visited the cathedral. Thirty-two white marble columns divide the center and side aisles. The marble columns are in diameter and are set up in sections weighing each. Each column consists of multiple smaller columns: four at the corners, measuring in diameter, and eight surrounding the central shaft, measuring in diameter. The columns are tall to the bottom of the arches that support the nave's ceiling. Above the center aisle is a series of

groin vault A groin vault or groined vault (also sometimes known as a double barrel vault or cross vault) is produced by the intersection at right angles of two barrel vaults. Honour, H. and J. Fleming, (2009) ''A World History of Art''. 7th edn. London: L ...

s supported by molded ribs, with foliate bosses at the intersection of each vault. The ceiling has holes with diameters of ; ropes could be threaded through these holes to allow repairs and cleaning. The side aisles are similar to those at

Saint-Ouen Abbey, Rouen Saint-Ouen Abbey, (french: Abbaye Saint-Ouen de Rouen) is a large Gothic (architecture), Gothic Catholic Church, Catholic church and former Benedictines, Benedictine Monastery, monastic church in Rouen. It is named for Audoin (bishop), Audoin (fren ...

, while the columns and ceiling are similar to British models such as

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...

The northern and southern facades are divided into five bays, with

es and pinnacles between each bay. The lower section of each bay contains an arched window measuring wide and wide.

Mullion A mullion is a vertical element that forms a division between units of a window or screen, or is used decoratively. It is also often used as a division between double doors. When dividing adjacent window units its primary purpose is a rigid supp ...

s divide each of these windows vertically into three sections, and the top of each window has tracery. Above these windows is the

triforium A triforium is an interior gallery, opening onto the tall central space of a building at an upper level. In a church, it opens onto the nave from above the side aisles; it may occur at the level of the clerestory windows, or it may be locate ...

, which is above the nave floor. Four arches on either side of the nave support the triforium, which is tall. The

level of the nave rises for above the triforium and contains six bays. Each clerestory window is wide and high. The top of the clerestory is above ground. There are twelve chapels in the side aisles. Located under the side aisles' windowsills, the chapels each measure wide and high. The chapels have similar vaulted ceilings to the nave, and each has its their own altars. On the northern side-aisle is a dark-wood

baptistery In Christian architecture the baptistery or baptistry (Old French ''baptisterie''; Latin ''baptisterium''; Greek , 'bathing-place, baptistery', from , baptízein, 'to baptize') is the separate centrally planned structure surrounding the baptismal ...

on a marble podium, The baptistery was designed by

John La Farge John La Farge (March 31, 1835 – November 14, 1910) was an American artist whose career spanned illustration, murals, interior design, painting, and popular books on his Asian travels and other art-related topics. La Farge is best known for ...

. The chapels include one for St. Bernard and St. Bridget. Among the altars are those for Saint Elizabeth, designed by Roman artist Paolo Medici; a Saint

Jean-Baptiste de La Salle Jean-Baptiste de La Salle () (; 30 April 1651 – 7 April 1719) was a French priest, educational reformer, and founder of the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools. He is a saint of the Catholic Church and the patron saint for t ...

altar, sculpted by Dominic Borgia; and the Saint Louis and the

Saint Michael Michael (; he, מִיכָאֵל, lit=Who is like El od, translit=Mīḵāʾēl; el, Μιχαήλ, translit=Mikhaḗl; la, Michahel; ar, ميخائيل ، مِيكَالَ ، ميكائيل, translit=Mīkāʾīl, Mīkāl, Mīkhāʾīl), also ...

altars, designed by Tiffany & Co.

Transepts

The transepts measure from north to south. The transepts contain entrances facing north on 51st Street and south on 50th Street. These entrances are similar in design to the central gable on Fifth Avenue. As planned, the transept doorways were to measure wide and high. The large transept window over the 50th Street door represents St. Patrick, while that over the 51st Street door represents the

Immaculate Conception The Immaculate Conception is the belief that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception. It is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church, meaning that it is held to be a divinely revealed truth w ...

. The transept windows measure wide by tall and are divided by mullions into six vertical sections. Over each transept window rises a paneled gablet. A row of niches crosses each of the transepts' facades at the

eave The eaves are the edges of the roof which overhang the face of a wall and, normally, project beyond the side of a building. The eaves form an overhang to throw water clear of the walls and may be highly decorated as part of an architectural styl ...

line. Above this, each facade has a gable with pinnacles and pierced battlements, which in turn is topped by an octagonal pinnacle and foliated cross. On both sides of either entrance are tall windows. The windows are similar in design to those on the side aisles of the nave. The side windows depict the Four Evangelists. These windows are flanked by octagonal buttresses, which contain spiral stairs leading to the triforium and roofs. The roof at the intersection of the nave and transept contains a central finial high, which is gilded and is decorated with foliage and flowers. Inside the transepts are 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 ...

, which are carved in stone and were manufactured by the Stoltzenberg Company in

Roermond Roermond (; li, Remunj or ) is a city, municipality, and diocese in the Limburg province of the Netherlands. Roermond is a historically important town on the lower Roer on the east bank of the river Meuse. It received town rights in 1231. Roer ...

, the Netherlands. There are five Stations of the Cross in total. Three of them received prizes from the

World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition (also known as the Chicago World's Fair) was a world's fair held in Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordi ...

in 1893 before they were installed at the cathedral. In 1908, bronze screens were installed at both transept entrances, measuring tall and wide. The bronze screens were designed so the transepts' wooden doors could open directly into them. Each screen had six wrought-bronze panels with ornamentation. The south transept contained the Altar of the

Sacred Heart 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 devo ...

, which was made of bronze and had an elaborate

tabernacle According to the Hebrew Bible, the tabernacle ( he, מִשְׁכַּן, mīškān, residence, dwelling place), also known as the Tent of the Congregation ( he, link=no, אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד, ’ōhel mō‘ēḏ, also Tent of Meeting, etc.), ...

. The north transept contained the

Holy Family The Holy Family consists of the Child Jesus, the Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph. The subject became popular in art from the 1490s on, but veneration of the Holy Family was formally begun in the 17th century by Saint François de Laval, the fir ...

altar, made of white Carrara marble and dedicated in 1893.

Sanctuary

The sanctuary floor is raised six steps above the floor of the nave, connected to it via a set of gray marble steps. The sanctuary is long and measures wide. The roof is made of slate, though the clerestory roof has a metal cresting high. There is a cross at the east end of the roof, which has flowers and foliage ornaments.

Ambulatory

The

ambulatory The ambulatory ( la, ambulatorium, ‘walking place’) is the covered passage around a cloister or the processional way around the east end of a cathedral or large church and behind the high altar. The first ambulatory was in France in the 11th ...

, or side aisle of the sanctuary, is divided from west to east into three bays, similar to those in the nave. The

has a convex polygonal wall with five bays, which are divided by buttresses with pinnacles. Each bay of the apse has a window wide and high. The windows are divided by mullions into four vertical sections; they are surmounted by paneled gablets with traceries. The walls between the gablets and pinnacles are finished by pierced battlements. The south ambulatory has a marble ''

Pietà The Pietà (; meaning " pity", "compassion") is a subject in Christian art depicting the Virgin Mary cradling the dead body of Jesus after his body was removed from the cross. It is most often found in sculpture. The Pietà is a specific form ...

'' sculpture designed by

William Ordway Partridge William Ordway Partridge (April 11, 1861 – May 22, 1930) was an American sculptor, teacher and author. Among his best-known works are the Shakespeare Monument in Chicago, the equestrian statue of General Grant in Brooklyn, the ''Pietà'' at S ...

and completed in 1905. The south ambulatory also contains St. Joseph's Altar, which is made of bronze and mosaic. The first four Cardinals' ''

galero A (plural: ; from la, galērum, originally connotating a helmet made of skins; cf. '' galea'') is a broad-brimmed hat with tasselated strings which was worn by clergy in the Catholic Church. Over the centuries, the red ''galero'' was restricte ...

s'', or brimmed red felt hats, are mounted at the back of the sanctuary; the Catholic Church stopped issuing galeros to its cardinals in 1969. There are eleven windows on the sanctuary's clerestory, of which six represent sacrifice (three each on the north and south sides). The three windows on the north side represent the sacrifices of

Abel Abel ''Hábel''; ar, هابيل, Hābīl is a Biblical figure in the Book of Genesis within Abrahamic religions. He was the younger brother of Cain, and the younger son of Adam and Eve, the first couple in Biblical history. He was a shepherd ...

, Noe, and

Melchisedech In the Bible, Melchizedek (, hbo, , malkī-ṣeḏeq, "king of righteousness" or "my king is righteousness"), also transliterated Melchisedech or Malki Tzedek, was the king of Salem and priest of (often translated as "most high God"). He is f ...

, while the three on the south side represent the sacrifices of

Abraham Abraham, ; ar, , , name=, group= (originally Abram) is the common Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the special relationship between the Jew ...

, the Paschal Lamb, and the Mount of

Calvary Calvary ( la, Calvariae or ) or Golgotha ( grc-gre, Γολγοθᾶ, ''Golgothâ'') was a site immediately outside Jerusalem's walls where Jesus was said to have been crucified according to the canonical Gospels. Since at least the early mediev ...

. The five windows on the convex portion of the apse represent subjects from the history of the Lord. The apsidal windows represent the resurrection of Lazarus, the communion of St. John, the

resurrection of Jesus The resurrection of Jesus ( grc-x-biblical, ἀνάστασις τοῦ Ἰησοῦ) is the Christian belief that God raised Jesus on the third day after his crucifixion, starting – or restoring – his exalted life as Christ and Lo ...

, the giving of the keys of heaven to St. Peter, and Jesus meeting the disciples going to

Emmaus Emmaus (; Greek: Ἐμμαούς, ''Emmaous''; la, Emmaus; , ''Emmaom''; ar, عمواس, ''ʻImwas'') is a town mentioned in the Gospel of Luke of the New Testament. Luke reports that Jesus appeared, after his death and resurrection, before tw ...

Chancel and high altar

The original

and high altar, donated by Cardinal McCloskey, were three steps above the sanctuary floor and contained a platform of richly colored marble. The altar was made in Rome and designed in the Italian Gothic style. The altar steps intersected a marble tabernacle inlaid with precious stones and mosaics. Three bas-reliefs on the sides and front of the altar were carved in white marble. The archbishop's pulpit, on the north side of the altar, was made of wood. In 1885, a Gothic-style octagonal

pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, access ...

was installed at the south side of the high altar. Weighing and measuring tall, the pulpit was made mostly of Carrara marble, except for six supporting pillars, which were made of Vienna marble. A heavy marble balustrade with carved panels surrounded the main pulpit, which itself was accessed by six marble steps. The altar was compared to a

wedding cake A wedding cake is the traditional cake served at wedding receptions following dinner. In some parts of England, the wedding cake is served at a wedding breakfast; the 'wedding breakfast' does not mean the meal will be held in the morning, but ...

when it was first consecrated. In 1930, a marble altar rail was designed by Robert J. Reiley and installed in front of the altar. The rail had carvings of saints. At the rear of the original high altar was a

stylobate In classical Greek architecture, a stylobate ( el, στυλοβάτης) is the top step of the crepidoma, the stepped platform upon which colonnades of temple columns are placed (it is the floor of the temple). The platform was built on a level ...

with a

, or altar screen, measuring long and high. The clergy of the Archdiocese of New York gifted the altar screen, which was carved from Poitiers stone in France. The reredos was divided vertically into five parts: a central portion measuring wide, flanked on either side by panels measuring and wide. The base of the reredos was made of white marble, inlaid with alabaster and decorated with a bas-relief on each side. The reredos was topped by three towers, one at the center and one on each extreme end. The center tower ascended above the sanctuary floor while the corner towers ascended above the sanctuary floor. The center spire had a statue of

Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, names and titles), was ...

, while the other spires had statues of St. Peter and

St. Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

. Between the towers were placed six niches with angels, three on either side of the center spire. In 1942, the original high altar was removed from St. Patrick's Cathedral and consecrated at

Fordham University Church The Fordham University Church is a Catholic (Jesuit) church located at Fordham University in the Bronx, New York City. Originally constructed in 1845, the church was initially used as a seminary for the community, and later became part of the uni ...

the Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

. It was replaced with the current high altar, which is made of gray-white Italian marble and topped by a bronze

baldachin A baldachin, or baldaquin (from it, baldacchino), is a canopy of state typically placed over an altar or throne. It had its beginnings as a cloth canopy, but in other cases it is a sturdy, permanent architectural feature, particularly over h ...

Maginnis & Walsh Maginnis & Walsh was an architecture firm started by Charles Donagh Maginnis and Timothy Walsh in 1905. It was known for its innovative design of churches in Boston in the first half of the twentieth century. Partners Maginnis was born January ...

designed the high altar. It lacks a tabernacle and a reredos, similarly to other high altars in cathedrals. The altar table measures deep and about long. The baldachin is supported by four

piers Piers may refer to: * Pier, a raised structure over a body of water * Pier (architecture), an architectural support * Piers (name), a given name and surname (including lists of people with the name) * Piers baronets, two titles, in the baronetages ...

; it slopes upward to a pinnacle with a statue of

Christ the King Christ the King is a title of Jesus in Christianity referring to the idea of the Kingdom of God where the Christ is described as seated at the right hand of God. Many Christian denominations consider the kingly office of Christ to be one of ...

. The statue is flanked by smaller pinnacles with angelic figures. The pulpit is along the south (right) side of the right altar.

Crypt

Under the high altar is a

crypt A crypt (from Latin ''crypta'' "vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, sarcophagi, or religious relics. Originally, crypts were typically found below the main apse of a chur ...

in which notable Catholic figures that served the Archdiocese of New York are entombed. It is accessed by a set of doors behind the high altar. Originally, the entrance to the crypt was hidden by a heavy stone slab that required six people to lift. A stone staircase descended to a vault behind a set of slate doors. Large bronze letters with the names of those buried in the crypt are inscribed in the crypt doors. The crypt is about long and high, with a width of between the rows of coffins on either side. The crypt is square in plan except for a ventilating pipe at the southeast corner. It has space to bury either 24 or 42 people. The crypt's interments include all nine past deceased Archbishops of New York: * John Joseph Hughes (Archbishop, 1850–1864; interred 1883) *

(Archbishop, 1864–1885; interred 1885) *

Michael Augustine Corrigan Michael Augustine Corrigan (August 13, 1839May 5, 1902) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as the third archbishop of New York from 1885 to 1902. Early life Michael Augustine Corrigan was born August 13, 1839, in N ...

(Archbishop, 1885–1902; interred 1902) *

(Archbishop, 1902–1918; interred 1918) *

Patrick Joseph Hayes Patrick Joseph Hayes (November 20, 1867 – September 4, 1938) was an American cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of New York from 1919 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1924. Early life and ...

(Archbishop, 1919–1938; interred 1938) *

Francis Joseph Spellman Francis Joseph Spellman (May 4, 1889 – December 2, 1967) was an American bishop and cardinal of the Catholic Church. From 1939 until his death in 1967, he served as the sixth Archbishop of New York; he had previously served as an auxiliary ...

(Archbishop, 1939–1967; interred 1967) *

Terence James Cooke Terence James Cooke (March 1, 1921 – October 6, 1983) was an American cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of New York from 1968 until his death, quietly battling leukemia throughout his tenure. He was named a cardin ...

(Archbishop, 1968–1983; interred 1983) * John Joseph O'Connor (Archbishop, 1984–2000; interred 2000) * Edward Michael Egan (Archbishop, 2000–2009; interred 2015) 2016 St

Other interments include: * Michael J. Lavelle (Cathedral

Rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

, 1887–1939, and

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 ...

; interred 1939) * Joseph F. Flannelly (Cathedral Rector, 1939–1969, and Auxiliary Bishop, 1948–1969; interred 1973) * John Maguire (

Coadjutor Archbishop The term coadjutor (or coadiutor, literally "co-assister" in Latin) is a title qualifier indicating that the holder shares the office with another person, with powers equal to the other in all but formal order of precedence. These include: * Coadj ...

, 1965–1980; interred 1989) *

Pierre Toussaint Pierre Toussaint (27 June 1766 – June 30, 1853) was a Haitian-American hairdresser, philanthropist, and onetime slave brought to New York City by his owners in 1787. A candidate for sainthood, he was declared Venerable by Pope John Paul II in 1 ...

(interred 1990) – at the time of his interment, the only Catholic

layperson Laypeople or laypersons may refer to: * Someone who is not an expert in a particular field of study ** Lay judge *** Lay judges in Japan * Laity, members of a church who are not clergy ** Lay brother ** Lay sister ** Lay preacher ** Lay apo ...

to be interred at the cathedral

Fulton J. Sheen Fulton John Sheen (born Peter John Sheen, May 8, 1895 – December 9, 1979) was an American bishop of the Catholic Church known for his preaching and especially his work on television and radio. Ordained a priest of the Diocese of Peoria in ...

, Auxiliary Bishop of New York from 1951 to 1965 and later

Bishop of Rochester The Bishop of Rochester is the ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of Rochester in the Province of Canterbury. The town of Rochester has the bishop's seat, at the Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary, which was foun ...

, was interred in the crypt in 1979. During the late 2010s, the Archdiocese of New York and his relatives were involved in a three-year court dispute to keep his remains at St. Patrick's Cathedral. On June 27, 2019, Sheen's remains were disinterred from St. Patrick's and transferred to St. Mary's Cathedral in

Peoria, Illinois Peoria ( ) is the county seat of Peoria County, Illinois, United States, and the largest city on the Illinois River. As of the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census, the city had a population of 113,150. It is the principal city of the Peoria ...

, where he had been ordained.

Cathedral close

Lady chapel

The Lady chapel, designed by Charles T. Mathews, is east of the apse, facing along Madison Avenue. It was designed in a 13th-century Gothic style. The rear wall of the apse was partly removed in the first decade of the 20th century to allow the construction of an

around the choir's outer wall. The removed section of the apse's wall became part of Our Lady of Lourdes Church at that time. The chapel was designed with a roof and belfry made of green bronze, as well as walls surrounded by statues. The walls of the chapel were designed to be plain at the bottom, becoming progressively more elaborately designed at the top. Several

gargoyle In architecture, and specifically Gothic architecture, a gargoyle () is a carved or formed grotesque with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building, thereby preventing it from running down masonry walls ...

s were designed as decoration for the chapel's exterior. The chapel contains fifteen stained-glass windows depicting the mysteries of the

rosary The Rosary (; la, , in the sense of "crown of roses" or "garland of roses"), also known as the Dominican Rosary, or simply the Rosary, refers to a set of prayers used primarily in the Catholic Church, and to the physical string of knots or b ...

, five each for glorious, joyful, and sorrowful scenes. The Lady chapel has nine tall windows, as well as two side chapels with three windows each. The chapel is separated from the apse by a glass wall that rests on a glass beam. The glass wall is designed with a minimalist bronze frame. The interior of the Lady chapel was designed with carved stonework. The original altar, dedicated to the

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...

, had a high carved reredos, a mosaic floor, and a blue color scheme. The altar was replaced in 1942. The new altar is reached by three brown-marble steps. It consists of a white-marble reredos, an altar table, with a multicolored inlaid marble frontal named "Annunciation" designed by

Hildreth Meiere Hildreth may refer to: Places *Hildreth, California *Hildreth, Nebraska Hildreth is a village in Franklin County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 378 at the 2010 census. History Hildreth was founded in 1886 when the railroad was ex ...

, and a statue of the Lady on top. Under the Lady chapel is a crypt for the Kelly family, which had paid for the chapel.

Rectory

The rectory (originally the Vicar General's house) is at the southwest corner with 51st Street, on the northeastern section of the cathedral close. It carries the address 460 Madison Avenue. The Gothic-style building is three and a half stories high and is clad with Tuckahoe stone and white marble. As designed, it covers a lot measuring . The basement was originally designed as the kitchen, laundry, and servants' quarters. The first floor had a hall clad with marble tiles; the reception and dining rooms were on the left and two parlors were on the right of the hall. The second and third floors were designed as bedrooms. White oak and black walnut was used throughout the building. The rectory had ceilings of on the first and second floors, on the third floor, and on the fourth. It had 30 rooms in total. The rectory was substantially unchanged from its early-1880s construction until 1940. A new window was installed on the southern facade at ground level; new plumbing, electric wiring, an elevator, and a telephone switchboard were installed; and the curtains were replaced. The two first-floor parlors were converted into four offices and a waiting room, and the upper stories were divided into smaller bedrooms and studies. The rectory retained some original design features such as its black-walnut

fireplace mantel The fireplace mantel or mantelpiece, also known as a chimneypiece, originated in medieval times as a hood that projected over a fire grate to catch the smoke. The term has evolved to include the decorative framework around the fireplace, and c ...

s. In 1920, the rectory also hosted the marriage of

F. Scott Fitzgerald Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (September 24, 1896 – December 21, 1940) was an American novelist, essayist, and short story writer. He is best known for his novels depicting the flamboyance and excess of the Jazz Age—a term he popularize ...

and

Zelda Fitzgerald Zelda Fitzgerald (; July 24, 1900 – March 10, 1948) was an American novelist, painter, dancer, and socialite. Born in Montgomery, Alabama, she was noted for her beauty and high spirits, and was dubbed by her husband F. Scott Fitzgerald ...

Archbishop's residence

The archbishop's residence is at the northwest corner with 50th Street, occupying the southeastern section of the cathedral close. It carries the address 452 Madison Avenue. The archbishop's residence covers . The Gothic-style building is three and a half stories high and is also clad with white marble. A plaque commemorating

's 1965 visit to the cathedral is mounted on the facade. , Cardinal Dolan shares the archbishop's house with three other priests. On the third floor is a chapel for

John the Apostle John the Apostle ( grc, Ἰωάννης; la, Ioannes ; Ge'ez: ዮሐንስ;) or Saint John the Beloved was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. Generally listed as the youngest apostle, he was the son of Zebedee a ...

. The right-side wall has a plaque measuring with a

holy water font A holy water font or stoup is a vessel containing holy water which is generally placed near the entrance of a church. It is often placed at the base of a crucifix or religious representation. It is used in the Catholic Church, Anglican Churches ...

made of silver. The

Assumption of Mary The Assumption of Mary is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Pope Pius XII defined it in 1950 in his apostolic constitution ''Munificentissimus Deus'' as follows: We proclaim and define it to be a dogma revealed by Go ...

, flanked by

cherub A cherub (; plural cherubim; he, כְּרוּב ''kərūḇ'', pl. ''kərūḇīm'', likely borrowed from a derived form of akk, 𒅗𒊏𒁍 ''karabu'' "to bless" such as ''karibu'', "one who blesses", a name for the lamassu) is one of the u ...

s, is depicted atop the holy water font. The font was given by Pope Paul VI to Cardinal Cooke in 1971.

Staff

, Cardinal

is the archbishop of St. Patrick's Cathedral, having served in this position since 2009. Since November 2021, Enrique Salvo has served as the rector of the cathedral. In addition, Rev. Andrew King is the master of ceremonies, and Rev. Donald Haggerty, Rev. Arthur Golino, and Rev. Ed Dougherty are also on staff. Rev. Stephen Ries serves as Cardinal Dolan's Priest Secretary. The director of music is Jennifer Pascual. The associate directors of music, who also serve as organists, are Daniel Brondel and Michael Hey. In addition, Robert M. Evers is the Music Administrator and Programs Editor.

Bells

There are nineteen bells at St. Patrick's Cathedral. The bells were created by the firm of Messrs. Paccard in France and installed in 1897. They hang in the northern tower of St. Patrick's Cathedral above ground. Since there are fewer than 23 bells, the minimum needed to be able to ring two

octave In music, an octave ( la, octavus: eighth) or perfect octave (sometimes called the diapason) is the interval between one musical pitch and another with double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been refer ...

s, they hang in a chime instead of a

carillon A carillon ( , ) is a pitched percussion instrument that is played with a keyboard and consists of at least 23 cast-bronze bells. The bells are hung in fixed suspension and tuned in chromatic order so that they can be sounded harmoniou ...

. A 1983 ''New York Times'' article reported that the chime was rung every day at 8 a.m., noon, and 6 p.m. Additionally, on Sundays, the chime was rung every 15 minutes between 10 a.m. and noon and every 15 minutes between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. Originally, the bells were powered by a compressed air mechanism in the basement. Pressing a key on the keyboard in the sacristy would activate an electric signal, which in turn would release the compressed air to ring each bell. According to ''The New York Times'', St. Patrick's bells were the first to be operated by compressed air. Until 1952, the bells could also be rung using tracker action; the bell-ringer would pull a rod between the

lever A lever is a simple machine consisting of a beam or rigid rod pivoted at a fixed hinge, or ''fulcrum''. A lever is a rigid body capable of rotating on a point on itself. On the basis of the locations of fulcrum, load and effort, the lever is div ...

and clapper of each bell. Each of the bells was donated by a different person or organization. The name of the bell, its donor, and the figure of the crucifixion is carved on each respective bell.

Organs

St. Patrick's Cathedral has two pipe organs with more than 9,000 pipes, 206

stops Stop may refer to: Places *Stop, Kentucky, an unincorporated community in the United States * Stop (Rogatica), a village in Rogatica, Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina Facilities * Bus stop * Truck stop, a type of rest stop for truck dri ...

, 150 ranks, and 10 divisions between them. The two organs are the Gallery Organ, completed in 1930, and the Chancel Organ, completed in 1928; both were manufactured by George Kilgen & Son. Since the mid-1990s, the two organs have been able to operate as a single unit. The two organs are controlled by twin 5-manual drawknob consoles and have 207 registers, 116 stops, and 142 ranks between them. The

Chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ove ...

Organ is in the north ambulatory of the sanctuary, adjoining the Chapel of St. Joseph. It originally had three manuals, which controlled four divisions. The Chancel Organ originally had 46 registers, 18 stops, and 18 ranks. There were 1,480 pipes, placed inside an oak case with Gothic-style carvings. The Gallery Organ is in the western part of the nave below the Fifth Avenue rose window, as well as in the triforium near the south transept. The Gallery Organ had a four-manual stopkey console with 157 registers and 114 ranks. There were 7,855 pipes; the shortest measured long and the longest, long, crossed the triforia.

Organ history

The first organ was built by George Jardine & Son and installed in 1879. It was composed of four manuals, 51 stops, and 56 ranks. In 1880, J.H. & C.S. Odell installed an organ in the chancel with 2 manuals, 20 stops and 23 ranks. George Kilgen & Son designed the two current organs after

Pietro Yon Pietro Alessandro Yon (August 8, 1886 – November 22, 1943) was an Italian-born organist and composer who made his career in the United States. Early life Yon was born in Settimo Vittone, (Piedmont, Italy). His earliest studies in music beg ...

was hired to the music staff in the late 1920s. The Chancel Organ was dedicated on January 30, 1928, while the Gallery Organ was dedicated on February 11, 1930. Tonal modifications were made in the 1940s and 1950s, and additional renovations occurred in the 1970s and 1980s. In 1993, while

John-Michael Caprio John-Michael Caprio (July 1947 – December 25, 1997) was an American conductor and organist who served as the music director at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City between 1990 and 1997. During his seven years at the renowned Manhattan lan ...

was music director, a major restoration of the organs commenced, and the old three- manual consoles were replaced with twin five-manual consoles. The

Peragallo Pipe Organ Company The Peragallo Pipe Organ Company of Paterson, New Jersey, United States, was founded in 1918 by John Peragallo Sr., who, prior to founding the company, apprenticed with the E.M. Skinner Organ Company (now Aeolian-Skinner). A family company, Peragal ...

removed the cathedral's organ for cleaning in early 1994. The next year, the Chancel Organ was restored. The restoration was completed after the Echo Organ in the triforium was restored. All the organs of the cathedral were removed from the cathedral during the 2012-2015 restoration, and were restored, cleaned and re-voiced by the Peragallo Company before being reinstalled in 2015.

Directors of music

In the first nine decades of St. Patrick's Cathedral's history, it only had four music directors. The first organist and director of music at the current St. Patrick's Cathedral was William F. Pecher, who had been hired at the Old Cathedral in 1862 and served at the current cathedral from 1879 to his death in 1904. Afterward, Jacques C. Ungerer served as the director of music until 1929. He was succeeded by Pietro Yon, who at the time was an assistant director. When Yon suffered a stroke in 1943, Dr. Charles Marie Courboin was temporarily appointed to Yon's position. Yon died the same year and Courboin served as music director until 1970. The cathedral's fifth music director, John Grady, served as a music director and organist from 1970 to his death in 1990. Grady was succeeded by

, who also served until his death, in 1997. Four people served as directors over the following six years: John C. West (1997–1999), Robert Long (1999–2001), Don Stefano Concordia (2001), and Johannes Somary (2001–2003). Since 2003, Jennifer Pascual has served as the music director, being the first woman to hold this position.

Crimes, terrorism, and other disturbances

Facade of Saint Patrick's by David Shankbone

Over the years, St. Patrick's Cathedral has been targeted by bombings and threats: * On October 13, 1914, a bomb exploded on the northwest corner of the cathedral. It tore an 18-inch hole in the floor. One injury was reported: a boy whose head was grazed by a flying piece of metal. * In March 1915, Italian anarchists Frank Abarno and Carmine Carbone of the

Bresci Circle The Bresci Circle was a group of New York City anarchists remembered for a failed bombing attempt on St. Patrick's Cathedral in 1915, in which two of its members were arrested. The group was named after Gaetano Bresci, a New York anarchist who ...

were arrested for attempting to detonate a bomb in the cathedral. * In January 1951, a letter threatened that a bomb would be set off at a Sunday Mass, but the Mass continued without any disruption. Another, telephoned bomb threat occurred in June 1953. * On April 18, 2019, just two days after a fire damaged the

Notre-Dame de Paris Notre-Dame de Paris (; meaning "Our Lady of Paris"), referred to simply as Notre-Dame, is a medieval Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité (an island in the Seine River), in the 4th arrondissement of Paris. The cathedral, dedicated to the ...

, a 37-year-old New Jersey man carrying a pair of full two-gallon cans of gasoline, two bottles of lighter fluid, and two extended butane lighters was arrested after attempting to enter the cathedral. The man was a philosophy professor at nearby

Seton Hall University Seton Hall University (SHU) is a private Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey. Founded in 1856 by then-Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley and named after his aunt, Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Seton Hall is the oldest diocesan un ...

who suffered from

schizophrenia Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. Other symptoms include social withdra ...

. In addition, there have been numerous instances of vandalism: * In 1944, red paint was splashed on the cathedral. The paint was smeared in a pattern similar to the hammer and sickle of a

communist party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...

. * On May 30, 2020, during the nationwide protests and riots following the

murder of George Floyd On , George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, was murdered in the U.S. city of Minneapolis by Derek Chauvin, a 44-year-old white police officer. Floyd had been arrested on suspicion of using a counterfeit $20 bill. Chauvin knelt on Floyd's n ...

Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (abbreviated BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people. Its primary concerns are incidents of police bruta ...

protesters spray-painted pro-BLM and

anti-police Anti-police sentiment refers to a social group or individual's attitude and stance against the policing system. By country Indonesia The anti-police sentiment has reported to be on the rise in Indonesia in recent years. In 2021, a police offic ...

slogans on the facade. Two people were charged the following month for the crime. * On

New Year's Day New Year's Day is a festival observed in most of the world on 1 January, the first day of the year in the modern Gregorian calendar. 1 January is also New Year's Day on the Julian calendar, but this is not the same day as the Gregorian one. Wh ...

2021, the cathedral was vandalized again with anti-police graffiti. Other incidents have included: * A 2020 report by the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...

accepted earlier reports that the

laicized In the canon law of the Catholic Church, the loss of clerical state (commonly referred to as laicization, dismissal, defrocking, and degradation) is the removal of a bishop, priest, or deacon from the status of being a member of the clergy. The t ...

Cardinal

Theodore McCarrick Theodore Edgar McCarrick (born July 7, 1930) is a laicized American bishop and former cardinal of the Catholic Church. Ordained a priest in 1958, he became an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of New York in 1977, then became Bishop of Metuch ...

committed acts of

sex abuse Sexual abuse or sex abuse, also referred to as molestation, is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using force or by taking advantage of another. Molestation often refers to an instance of sexual assa ...

at the cathedral between 1971 and 1972. * On September 21, 1988, a mentally ill man killed an usher and seriously injured an officer before being fatally shot. * On December 10, 1989,

ACT UP AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) is an international, grassroots political group working to end the AIDS pandemic. The group works to improve the lives of people with AIDS through direct action, medical research, treatment and advocacy, ...

, a pressure group that advocates for

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

awareness, led a demonstration of 4,500 people outside the cathedral as part of their

Stop the Church Stop the Church was a demonstration organized by members of AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) on December 10, 1989, that disrupted a Mass being said by Cardinal John O'Connor at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City. One-hundred and el ...

campaign. About 130 infiltrated the church and disrupted the Mass, forcing Cardinal John O'Connor to abandon his sermon. * In 2002, "

shock jocks A shock jock is a radio broadcaster or DJ who entertains listeners and attracts attention using humor and/or melodramatic exaggeration that may offend some portion of the listening audience. The term is used pejoratively to describe provocative o ...

Opie and Anthony ''Opie and Anthony'' was an American radio show hosted by Gregg Hughes, Gregg "Opie" Hughes and Anthony Cumia that aired from March 1995 to July 2014, with comedian Jim Norton (comedian), Jim Norton serving as third mic from 2001. The show origina ...

held a promotion that encouraged listeners of their radio show to have sex in risky places. Two listeners were caught in a vestibule of the church doing so; they were arrested, along with comedian Paul Mecurio.

References

Notes

Citations

Sources

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Patrick's Cathedral, Manhattan 1878 establishments in New York (state) 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United States Cathedrals in New York City Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in New York (state) Fifth Avenue Gothic Revival church buildings in New York City Irish-American culture in New York City James Renwick Jr. church buildings Madison Avenue Midtown Manhattan National Historic Landmarks in Manhattan New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan Properties of religious function on the National Register of Historic Places in Manhattan Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York Patrick New York Roman Catholic churches completed in 1878 Roman Catholic churches completed in 1910 Roman Catholic churches in Manhattan