The Cathedral of Mary the Assumption, also known as St. Mary's Cathedral, is a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

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

and

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), 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 com ...

located in

Saginaw, Michigan Saginaw () is a city in Saginaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. It had a population of 44,202 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located along the Saginaw River, Saginaw is adjacent to Saginaw Charter Township, ...

, United States. It is the seat of the

Diocese of Saginaw The Diocese of Saginaw () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Michigan in the United States. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Detroit. The D ...

. In 1979 it was included as a

contributing property 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 dist ...

in the Saginaw Central City Historic Residential District on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

History

St. Mary’s Church

St. Mary's parish was founded in 1853 by the Rev. Henry J.H. Schutjes as a mission of St. Joseph parish in Bay City. The first church building was dedicated the same year and the second church building was built ten years later. St. Mary's became a parish in 1866 and the Rev. Francis T. Van der Bom was named the first pastor. In 1868 the parish's first school opened in a two-room schoolhouse. Four sisters from the congregation of the

Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary The Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (I.H.M.) is a Catholicism, Catholic Religious institute (Catholic), religious institute of sisters, founded in 1845 by Fr. Louis Florent Gillet, Redemptorists, CSsR, and Mother Theresa Maxis D ...

from

Monroe Monroe or Monroes may refer to: People and fictional characters * Monroe (surname) * Monroe (given name) * James Monroe, 5th President of the United States * Marilyn Monroe, actress and model Places United States * Monroe, Arkansas, an unincorp ...

taught in the school. St. Joseph Parish in Saginaw was founded from St. Mary's in 1873 and the German parishioners founded Sacred Heart the following year. Father Van der Bom and Dr. Benjamin B. Ross organized St. Mary's Hospital, which was staffed by four Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, in 1874. Because the other two parishes took parishioners from St. Mary's the enrollment in the school dropped and the Immaculate Heart of Mary sisters left the parish in 1875. The two-story, brick,

Châteauesque Châteauesque (or Francis I style,Whiffen, Marcus, ''American Architecture Since 1780: A guide to the styles'', The MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 1969, p. 142. or in Canada, the Château Style) is a revivalist architectural style based on the ...

-style

rectory A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of a given religion, serving as both a home and a base for the occupant's ministry. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, p ...

was built the same year. The second parish school, named St. Mary Academy, was built in 1878. It was staffed by the

Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods The Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods are an Consecrated life (Catholic Church), apostolic congregation of Roman Catholic Church, Catholic women founded by Saint Theodore Guerin, Theodora Guerin (known colloquially as Saint Mo ...

. In 1886 the Polish families of the parish established Holy Rosary Mission in

East Saginaw East Saginaw was a city in Saginaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is now part of the city of Saginaw. History Much of the area that later became East Saginaw was granted by treaty to James Reilly, the Métis son of fur trader Stephen V. ...

. The French parishioners established Holy Family Parish in 1892. Construction on the present church began in 1901 and it was completed in 1903. The third church building to house the parish was dedicated on July 23, 1903. The Sisters of Providence left St. Mary's Academy in 1907 and deeded the property to the Bishop of Grand Rapids. They were replaced by the Dominican Sisters from

Grand Rapids Grand Rapids is the largest city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, United States. With a population of 198,917 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 200,117 in 2024, Grand Rapids is the List of municipalities ...

. Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish was established in 1913 by 120 Italian families from the parish. A new school building was completed in 1920.

Cathedral

St. Mary's Church became the cathedral of the Diocese of Saginaw when it was established by

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

on February 26, 1938. In 1941 the cathedral was extensively renovated and a new

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religion, religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, Church (building), churches, and other places of worship. They are use ...

, which replaced the altar that had been used in the second church, was placed in the church. A new two-story

convent A convent is an enclosed community of monks, nuns, friars or religious sisters. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The term is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

was built in 1956. The cathedral was extensively renovated in 1978. The altar and the

cathedra A ''cathedra'' is the throne of a bishop in the early Christian basilica. When used with this meaning, it may also be called the bishop's throne. With time, the related term ''cathedral'' became synonymous with the "seat", or principa ...

were moved to the main floor area of the church from the

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

. A

Blessed Sacrament The Eucharist ( ; from , ), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an ordinance in others. Christians believe that the rite was instituted by J ...

chapel was created, movable chairs replaced the pews, the gallery was expanded, the organ and choir area were relocated, a new side entrance from the parking lot was created, and the interior was redecorated and painted. The cathedral was re-dedicated on June 1, 1978. Because of declining enrollment and increased tuition, the East Side Catholic Schools system was created in 1982. Pre-schoolers through third-grade students attended St. Casimir School, fourth through sixth-grade students attend Our Lady Help of Christians School, and students in grades seven to 12 attended St. Mary Cathedral School. Two years later St. Mary Cathedral School merged with St. Stephen and Saints Peter and Paul high schools to create

Nouvel Catholic Central High School Nouvel Catholic Central High School is a private, Catholic high school located in Saginaw Charter Township, Michigan and serving the Saginaw region. Nouvel is a high school that enrolls approximately 150 students. The school was formed in 19 ...

. The former St. Mary Cathedral School building was sold in 1988. It was abandoned by its new owners two years later and became a source of blight. A covered entrance and elevator were added to the side entrance, a new sound system was installed and necessary repairs were made to the interior and exterior of the cathedral in 2000. In January 2007 Bishop Robert J. Carlson formed a diocesan committee to study the possibility of renovating and renewing the Cathedral campus. Neighborhood Renewal Services helped the diocese purchase back the former cathedral school building in September of the same year. The following month the diocese bought the former convent from Holy Cross Children's Services, which was in the process of relocating. Renovations were completed on the former convent in February 2008. It houses the parish offices, the Cathedral Mental Health Clinic and Abortion Alternatives Inc. St. Dominic Chapel serves as a day chapel for the cathedral parish. The former St. Mary Cathedral School building was demolished in June 2008; a new roof was placed on the cathedral in the autumn of the same year. The cathedral closed temporarily starting in February 2017 for an extensive renovation.. Masses were held in St. Andrew's Church during its closure. The $4.7 million renovation included a re-configuration of the interior; a new marble altar, ambo, and baptismal font; new wooden

and pews; and an addition that contains handicapped accessible restrooms. It has a seating capacity of about 500 people.

Pipe organ

At the time of the 2017 renovation, the 1930

Kilgen Kilgen was a prominent American builder of organs which was in business from the mid-19th to the mid-20th century. History The Kilgen family The Kilgen family's history of organ making supposedly dates to the 17th century, when Sebastian Kilgen ...

pipe organ The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurised air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a Musical keyboard, keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single tone and pitch, the pipes are provide ...

that was in St. Joseph's Church in

Bay City, Michigan Bay City is a city in Bay County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The population was 32,661 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The city is located just upriver from the Saginaw Bay on the Saginaw River. It is the princip ...

, was rebuilt in the cathedral by the Lauck Pipe Organ Co. of

Otsego, Michigan Otsego is a city in Allegan County, Michigan, Allegan County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 4,120 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The city is within Otsego Township, Michigan, Otsego Township, but is administrat ...

. The organ had undergone major renovations in 1984 and in 2002. The instrument features 30 ranks of pipes for a total of about 1,800, two consoles with three manuals each, and a pedalboard.

References

External links