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St. Michael's Cathedral is the mother church of the
The parish was established in 1847 as the church of St. Benedict after years of local Catholics fighting Protestant opposition to establish a parish. The congregation purchased a former Baptist church which served as its first home. For the first five years, it had no pastor when the Rev. Michael P. Gallagher was assigned to serve the parish. Gallagher began construction of the current sanctuary on State Street in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1860, and completed in 1861, based on plans from noted
File:St. Michael's Cathedral interior - Springfield, Massachusetts 01.jpg, Nave looking toward the sanctuary
File:St. Michael's Cathedral interior - Springfield, Massachusetts 02.jpg, Nave looking toward the gallery
File:St. Michael's Cathedral interior - Springfield, Massachusetts 12.jpg, Stained glass window
File:St. Michael's Cathedral - Springfield, Massachusetts 12.jpg, Bishop Marshall Center
File:St. Michael's Cathedral - Springfield, Massachusetts 09.jpg, Rectory
Official siteDiocese of Springfield official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Michaels Cathedral, Springfield, Massachusetts Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield in Massachusetts Michael's in Springfield 1860s architecture in the United States Churches in Springfield, Massachusetts 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United States Religious organizations established in 1847 Tourist attractions in Springfield, Massachusetts 1847 establishments in Massachusetts Roman Catholic churches completed in 1861 Historic district contributing properties in Massachusetts Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts National Register of Historic Places in Springfield, Massachusetts
Diocese of Springfield in Massachusetts
The Diocese of Springfield in Massachusetts ( la, Diœcesis Campifontis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the New England region of the United States comprising the counties of Berkshire, Franklin, ...
, United States, established in 1847. In 1974 the church and rectory were included as contributing properties
In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic distri ...
in the Quadrangle–Mattoon Street Historic District, 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 parish was established in 1847 as the church of St. Benedict after years of local Catholics fighting Protestant opposition to establish a parish. The congregation purchased a former Baptist church which served as its first home. For the first five years, it had no pastor when the Rev. Michael P. Gallagher was assigned to serve the parish. Gallagher began construction of the current sanctuary on State Street in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1860, and completed in 1861, based on plans from noted Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
architect Patrick Keely
Patrick Charles Keely (August 9, 1816 — August 11, 1896) was an Irish-American architect based in Brooklyn, New York, and Providence, Rhode Island. He was a prolific designer of nearly 600 churches and hundreds of other institutional buildin ...
. In recognition of Fr. Gallagher's work, the parish changed its name to St. Michael at this time. Fr. Gallagher died in 1869 and is buried at the church entrance. When Pope Pius IX established the present Diocese of Springfield in Massachusetts
The Diocese of Springfield in Massachusetts ( la, Diœcesis Campifontis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the New England region of the United States comprising the counties of Berkshire, Franklin, ...
in 1870, St. Michael's church became its cathedral.
The structure was expanded in 1996, with the addition of the Bishop Marshall Center at the rear of the church. The center includes a chapel that seats 60 people, a TV studio for the daily broadcast of the Mass, a parish hall that can seat 120 people and kitchen, and it is handicap accessible.
From the year 2000, the cathedral has been home to The Cathedral Choir of Boys and Adults, whose purpose is to serve the bishop, sing at ordinations and other high masses, and perform the annual festival of Lessons and Carols and Tenebrae
Tenebrae (—Latin for "darkness") is a religious service of Western Christianity held during the three days preceding Easter Day, and characterized by gradual extinguishing of candles, and by a "strepitus" or "loud noise" taking place in total ...
service during Advent and Lent
Lent ( la, Quadragesima, 'Fortieth') is a solemn religious observance in the liturgical calendar commemorating the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring temptation by Satan, according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke ...
, respectively. Along with their normal duties, the choir offers basic music theory training to the boys of the choir.
See also
*List of Catholic cathedrals in the United States
The following is a list of the Catholic cathedrals in the United States. The Catholic Church in the United States comprises ecclesiastical territories called dioceses led by prelate bishops. Each bishop is assigned to a cathedral from which he ...
*List of cathedrals in the United States
This is a list of cathedrals in the United States, including both actual cathedrals (seats of bishops in Episcopal polity, episcopal Christian groups, such as Catholic Church, Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodoxy and ...
* Saint Michael: Roman Catholic traditions and views
References
External links
Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Michaels Cathedral, Springfield, Massachusetts Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield in Massachusetts Michael's in Springfield 1860s architecture in the United States Churches in Springfield, Massachusetts 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United States Religious organizations established in 1847 Tourist attractions in Springfield, Massachusetts 1847 establishments in Massachusetts Roman Catholic churches completed in 1861 Historic district contributing properties in Massachusetts Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts National Register of Historic Places in Springfield, Massachusetts