St. Patrick's Co-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 ...

Billings, Montana Billings is the most populous Lists of populated places in the United States, city in the U.S. state of Montana, with a population of 117,116 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located in the south-central portion of the state, i ...

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 ...

. Along with St. Ann's Cathedral in

Great Falls, Montana Great Falls is the List of cities and towns in Montana, third most populous city in the U.S. state of Montana and the county seat of Cascade County, Montana, Cascade County. The population was 60,442 according to the 2020 United States census, 2 ...

it is the seat of the

Diocese of Great Falls-Billings In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associated ...

History

St. Patrick’s Parish

The first parish in Billings was named St. Joachim, and it was established in 1887. By the turn of the 20th century Billings was in need of a larger church and St. Patrick's was established. The present church building was built in the

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 ...

style in 1904 for $64,000. An extensive renovation of the church took place in 1954. The altar, communion rail, Stations of the Cross and pews were all replaced with new furnishings. A new

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 ...

graced the choir loft. Interior decorative painting was done in 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 ...

style. Changes were made to the exterior as well. Further modifications were made to the interior of the church in the 1960s and 1970s in response to the liturgical reforms of the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , was the 21st and most recent ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City for session ...

. The side altars and communion rail were removed. The present marble altar,

ambo Ambo may refer to: Places * Ambo, Kiribati * Ambō (also spelled Anbō), Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan * Ambo Province, Huanuco Region, Peru ** Ambo District ** Ambo, Peru, capital of Ambo District * Ambo, Ethiopia, a capital of West Shewa Zon ...

and wood paneling were installed.

St. Patrick’s Co-Cathedral

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 ...

renamed the Diocese of Great Falls as the Diocese of Great Falls-Billings on February 14, 1980. At that time St. Patrick's Church joined St. Ann's Cathedral in Great Falls as the

co-cathedral A co-cathedral is a cathedral church which shares the function of being a bishop's seat, or ''cathedra'', with another cathedral, often in another city (usually a former see, anchor city of the metropolitan area or the civil capital). Instances o ...

of the diocese. Further renovations to the cathedral's interior took place in the 1990s. The choir was moved to the front of the worship space. New sacristies and a new gathering space were added to the church.

References

External links

Official Cathedral SiteRoman Catholic Diocese of Great Falls-Billings Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Patrick's Co-Cathedral, Billings, Montana Roman Catholic churches completed in 1904 Patrick, Billings Roman Catholic Diocese of Great Falls–Billings Gothic Revival church buildings in Montana Buildings and structures in Billings, Montana Tourist attractions in Billings, Montana 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United States

History

St. Patrick’s Parish

St. Patrick’s Co-Cathedral

See also

References

External links