The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception is a historic

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 ...

on Cumberland Avenue in

Portland, Maine Portland is the List of municipalities in Maine, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat, seat of Cumberland County, Maine, Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 at the 2020 census. The Portland metropolit ...

, which serves as seat of the Diocese of Portland. The rector is Father Seamus Griesbach. The church, an imposing

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, 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 ...

structure built in 1866–69, 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 1985. Until 2023, it was the tallest building in Portland. It was surpassed by 201 Federal Street.

Architecture and history

The Roman Catholic diocese complex occupies most of a city block, bounded by Cumberland Avenue, Locust Street, Congress Street, and Franklin Street. The main church building is set on the northwest side of the property, facing Cumberland Avenue, while the parish hall extends northeast from its rear, and the bishop's residence stands to its southeast, facing Congress Street. To the left (south) of the residence stands a two-story school. Formerly the church-affiliated Kavanagh K-8 School, since 2013 the building has housed Portland Adult Education, the largest adult education institution in Maine. The church is an imposing masonry structure, built of red brick, with sandstone trim and a slate roof. The main façade has a central entrance recessed in a sandstone Gothic arch, with a large stained glass rose window above. The main tower rises to the right of the main entrance, with buttressed corners, narrow Gothic windows, and an octagonal spire. Windows on the side walls are also Gothic, with buttressing between. The interior of the cathedral is . The nave is long, rises , and holds almost 1,000 worshipers. The tallest of the cathedral's three steeples is, at Construction began in 1866 under the supervision of New York architect Patrick Keely. Construction of the church was interrupted by Portland's great 1866 fire, and it was not completed until September 8, 1869.The cathedral has undergone restorations in 1921, 1969, and 2000. In 1985, it was added to the

. The secondary buildings all have stylistically similar Gothic features. File:Immaculate Conception - Portland interior 02.jpg, View up nave toward the sanctuary File:Portland Immaculate Conception 03.jpg, Organ by Henry Erben (1869) File:Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception - Chapel interior.jpg, Chapel interior File:Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception - Portland, Maine 04.JPG, Guild Hall

References

External links

Official Cathedral Site

Diocese of Portland Official Site
{{National Register of Historic Places Churches in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Maine Gothic Revival church buildings in Maine Roman Catholic churches completed in 1866 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United States Churches in Portland, Maine Immaculate Conception, Portland 1866 establishments in Maine National Register of Historic Places in Portland, Maine Roman Catholic churches in Maine Cathedrals in Maine

Architecture and history

See also

References

External links