St. Patrick Cathedral is the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of El Paso,

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. 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 ...

is located at 1118 N. Mesa Street, north of the downtown area. It is the

mother church Mother church or matrice is a term depicting the Christian Church as a mother in her functions of nourishing and protecting the believer. It may also refer to the primary church of a Christian denomination or diocese, i.e. a cathedral church, or ...

for 668,000 Catholics in the diocese (80.8% of total population; as of the 2006 survey). The cathedral parish operates one of El Paso's Catholic high schools, Cathedral High School, and St. Patrick Elementary School adjacent to the church.

History

The church was designed by Barnett, Haynes & Barnett, an architectural firm from

St Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

, Missouri. It was built in the form of a

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica (Greek Basiliké) was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek Eas ...

, in the

Italian Renaissance The Italian Renaissance ( ) was a period in History of Italy, Italian history between the 14th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Western Europe and marked t ...

style. In raising funds for the cathedral's construction, the diocese offered to allow the first group to raise $10,000 for the project to name the new cathedral. A group of Irish Catholic women met the challenge and chose St. Patrick as patron. At the time El Paso was a major center of the mining industry in the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, with many of the miners being Irish. The ground was broken on April 8, 1914, and the church and the

cornerstone A cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry Foundation (engineering), foundation. All other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entir ...

were blessed in a ceremony by Fr Edward Barry on November 12, 1916. The interior of the cathedral is adorned with Roman columns, elaborate

fresco Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...

es that depict biblical scenes and the

Stations of the Cross The Stations of the Cross or the Way of the Cross, also known as the Via Dolorosa, Way of Sorrows or the , are a series of fourteen images depicting Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ on the day of Crucifixion of Jesus, his crucifixion and acc ...

are carved in

bas-relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

on the interior walls. The high

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 ...

contains a 2.5-meter-tall statue of the

Sacred Heart of Jesus The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus () is one of the most widely practised and well-known Catholic devotions, wherein the heart of Jesus Christ is viewed as a symbol of "God's boundless and passionate love for mankind". This devotion to Christ is p ...

with a large canopy over the altar, topped with a golden eagle. The church seats about 800 people for Mass. In alcoves along the walls there are a picture of

Our Lady of Guadalupe Our Lady of Guadalupe (), also known as the Virgin of Guadalupe (), is a Catholic title of the Blessed Virgin Mary associated with four Marian apparitions to Juan Diego and one to his uncle, Juan Bernardino reported in December 1531, when t ...

and a life-size classical sculpture of St. Patrick. The

stained-glass windows Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

were made by Emil Frei Art Glass Company of St. Louis, Missouri, and depict scenes from the life of Jesus and the Church.

Saint Peter of Jesus Maldonado and the Cathedral

Because of the

anticlerical Anti-clericalism is opposition to religious authority, typically in social or political matters. Historically, anti-clericalism in Christian traditions has been opposed to the influence of Catholicism. Anti-clericalism is related to secularism, ...

laws due to the Mexican Constitution of 1917 and the

Mexican Revolution The Mexican Revolution () was an extended sequence of armed regional conflicts in Mexico from 20 November 1910 to 1 December 1920. It has been called "the defining event of modern Mexican history". It saw the destruction of the Federal Army, its ...

, the Catholic Church was increasingly suppressed by the governments of Presidents Alvaro Obregon and Plutarco Calles. Involvement in politics, freedom of worship and redress of grievances were severely curtailed and even denied to

bishops A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

priests A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, ...

deacons A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Catholi ...

and Catholic

laity In religious organizations, the laity () — individually a layperson, layman or laywoman — consists of all Church membership, members who are not part of the clergy, usually including any non-Ordination, ordained members of religious orders, e ...

. Even prior to the end of the revolution, from 1914 to 1918, those aspiring to be priests found it impossible to study in Mexico, and studied abroad, usually in the United States, mostly in cities close to the U.S.-Mexican border.

El Paso El Paso (; ; or ) is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States. The 2020 United States census, 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the List of ...

was especially popular because of its closeness to Mexico. During these years many

seminarian A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy ...

s from northern Mexico studied in El Paso, and were

ordain Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform vari ...

ed to the priesthood there. One such was Peter of Jesus Maldonado, who was ordained by Bishop Anthony J Schuler, S.J., in the cathedral on January 25, 1918. Padre Maldonado returned to his native Chihuahua; he was beaten to death in 1937 at the hands of town authorities in Santa Isabel (at that time named General Trias), Chihuahua, for preaching the

Gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...

and teaching the catechism to the people there. He was buried in the Cathedral of Chihuahua, and

canonised Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of sai ...

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

on May 21, 2000, as one of the companions of St Christopher Magallanes. A memorial in the

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 ...

of St. Patrick commemorates the event of his ordination.

Photo Gallery I - The Windows

Image:STP-ELP12.jpg, The Annunciation and The Immaculate Conception. Image:STP-ELP1.jpg, Cana and The Death of St. Joseph Image:STP-ELP11.jpg, The Sacred Heart and The Coronation of Our Lady Image:STP-ELP13.jpg, The Presentation of Jesus and The Nativity Image:STP-ELP2.jpg, The Sea of Galilee and The Baptism of Our Lord Image:STP-ELP5.jpg, Jesus and the Children and The Anointing by Mary Image:STP-ELP6.jpg, The Garden of Gethsemene and The Last Supper Image:STP-ELP7.jpg, The Empty Tomb and The Crucifixion Image:STP-ELP8.jpg, Pentecost and The Ascension Image:STP-ELP19.jpg, The Great Commission Image:STP-ELP22.jpg, Pontifical Window with the coat of arms of

Pope Benedict XV Pope Benedict XV (; ; born Giacomo Paolo Giovanni Battista della Chiesa, ; 21 November 1854 – 22 January 1922) was head of the Catholic Church from 1914 until his death in January 1922. His pontificate was largely overshadowed by World War I a ...

during whose reign the cathedral was dedicated

Photo Gallery II - Other Points of Interest

Image:STP-ELP.jpg, The Facade:Mosaic of St. Patrick Image:STP-ELP3.jpg, Stations of the Cross: Station VIII Image:STP-ELP4.jpg, Sculpture of St. Patrick Image:STP-ELP21.jpg, Sculpture of St. Patrick: Detail Image:STP-ELP9.jpg, The South Gallery and Organ Image:STP-ELP10.jpg, The High Altar Image:STP-ELP14.jpg, The Nave and Chancel Image:STP-ELP15.jpg, The Marian Altar and Baptistry Image:STP-ELP16.jpg, The Tabernacle Image:STP-ELP17.jpg, The Cathedra Image:STP-ELP18.jpg, The High Altar: The Sacred Heart Statue

References

Also included in the ''Borderlands'' series is additional information concerning El Paso and the cathedral.

External links