Saint Mary's Cathedral is the

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 ...

parish of the Catholic Diocese of Austin located in

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. It was listed 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 ...

in 1973, as St. Mary's Cathedral.

History

The origins of this church date to the 1850s when the largely Irish Catholic community in Austin, (originally called "Waterloo"), built a small stone church named St. Patrick's on the corner of 9th and Brazos Streets. It was built of locally quarried limeston

The parish continued to grow, due in no small part to the increase in German Catholics. In 1866, the parish decided they needed a new church and could afford masonry construction. While the Irish preferred that the church retain the name of St. Patrick, the German residents hoped the new church would be dedicated to a patron saint who reflected their heritage. Both sides compromised and agreed that the new church be named in honor of Mary. In 1872, after Austin was made the permanent capital of the state, the parish laid the cornerstone for a new church choosing a location one block north of the original building."History", Saint Mary Cathedral
/ref> At the time, Austin was part of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, Diocese of Galveston. St. Mary's was finished in 1874 and dedicated in 1884. St. Patrick's was demolished around 1874. When the Diocese of Austin was created in 1948, St. Mary's became the cathedral of the newly formed diocese. In recognition of St. Mary's Irish roots, the Celtic Cultural Center of Texas holds an annual Christmas concert at the cathedral, highlighting traditional Irish and Scottish music played by noted artists. The show has sold out every year.

Architecture

The new church was designed by Irish-born architect Nicholas J. Clayton in a Victorian design. It was his first independent commission. In 1872, he was in

Galveston Galveston ( ) is a Gulf Coast of the United States, coastal resort town, resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island (Texas), Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a pop ...

working as supervising architect for the construction of the First Presbyterian Church, designed by the Memphis, Tennessee, architects

Jones Jones or Joneses may refer to: People and fictional characters *Jones (surname), a common Welsh and English surname * List of people with surname Jones, including fictional characters ** Justice Jones (disambiguation) ** Judge Jones (disambiguati ...

and

Baldwin Baldwin may refer to: People * Baldwin (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname Places Canada * Baldwin, York Regional Municipality, Ontario * Baldwin, Ontario, in Sudbury District * Baldwin's Mills, ...

. It may have been through the

Holy Cross Holy Cross or Saint Cross may refer to: * the instrument of the crucifixion of Jesus * Christian cross, a frequently used religious symbol of Christianity * True Cross, supposed remnants of the actual cross upon which Jesus was crucified * Feast o ...

fathers that the bishop connected Nicholas Clayton with St. Mary's Austin. The neo-Gothic Revival towers and spires were completed in 1907. The original finials were removed in the 1950s, perhaps after being struck by lightning. Additional stained-glass work was added in the 1890s. The cathedral's design evokes nature. The tree-like columns have their foliage-carved capitals; the murals contain tracery of vines and leaves. The pointed arches on doors and windows and the spires evoke the mountains. The ceiling and the blue dome spangled with stars reflect the sky and the heavens. The cathedral's bell, donated by the family of Michael Butler, is one of the largest in the State of Texas. In 1948, when the church was remodeled, many of its

neo-Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half of the 19th century ...

decorations were removed, the neo-Gothic altars and altar rail were replaced with 20th-century marble and the baldachino with its

cactus A cactus (: cacti, cactuses, or less commonly, cactus) is a member of the plant family Cactaceae (), a family of the order Caryophyllales comprising about 127 genera with some 1,750 known species. The word ''cactus'' derives, through Latin, ...

and bluebonnets, evocative of

central Texas Central Texas is a region in the U.S. state of Texas roughly bordered on the west by San Saba, to the southeast by Bryan- College Station, the south by San Marcos and to the north by Hillsboro. Central Texas overlaps with and includes part ...

. The cathedral underwent extensive restoration in 2013, due to some safety concerns. This included, among other work, cleaning the exterior, the replacing of some blocks and mortar, and the restoration of the large

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'' wa ...

in the front facade. The window's central design of the

quincunx A quincunx ( ) is a geometry, geometric pattern consisting of five points arranged in a cross, with four of them forming a Square (geometry), square or rectangle and a fifth at its center. The same pattern has other names, including "in saltire" ...

, in which four parts spin out of one, can be interpreted as a geometric representation of the four evangelists carrying the Word to the four corners of the world. The building was listed in the

on April 2, 1973.

Cathedral school

The Cathedral School of Saint Mary was established in 1866,"History", Cathedral School of Saint Mary
/ref> and holds the distinction of being Austin's oldest school in continuous operation.

Gallery

File:St. Mary - Austin interior 01.jpg , View up the nave toward the altar File:St. Mary - Austin interior 03.jpg, View down the nave toward gallery File:St. Mary - Austin window 01.jpg, Stained glass window in the apse St. Mary - Austin interior 09.jpg, Cathedra File:Saint Mary's cathedral in Austin - statue.jpg, Statue of the

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

on the façade

References

External links