St. Peter Cathedral is a large

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

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 ...

located on Baraga Avenue in

Marquette, Michigan Marquette ( ) is the county seat of Marquette County, Michigan, Marquette County and the largest city in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, United States. Located on the shores of Lake Superior, Marquette is a major port known primarily for shippin ...

. As the mother church of the Diocese of Marquette, it is one of the most notable marks of Catholic presence in the

Upper Peninsula The Upper Peninsula of Michigan—also known as Upper Michigan or colloquially the U.P. or Yoop—is the northern and more elevated of the two major landmasses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan; it is separated from the Lower Peninsula b ...

. The cathedral 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 2012.

History

The current church is nothing like it first was, when a

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

priest named Father Jean-Baptiste Menet began holding services on the site in a small

log cabin A log cabin is a small log house, especially a minimally finished or less architecturally sophisticated structure. Log cabins have an ancient history in Europe, and in America are often associated with first-generation home building by settl ...

. Upon Bishop Frederic Baraga’s visit to the site, it was determined that a larger, more prominent church should be built, and that eventually the see should be moved to Marquette from

Sault Ste. Marie Sault Ste. Marie may refer to: People * Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, a Native American tribe in Michigan Places * Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada ** Sault Ste. Marie (federal electoral district), a Canadian federal electora ...

. Construction began in 1864, with Baraga himself laying the cornerstone. Two years later he dedicated the building, but he did not live to see his beloved cathedral catch fire. Some have suggested that this first fire, on October 2, 1879, was caused by Irish

arson Arson is the act of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, watercr ...

ists who were enraged that Father John Kenny had been removed as pastor. Though the building was destroyed, the congregation's resolve was fervent as ever, and plans were made to continue meeting in the basement before a new cathedral could be erected. It took nine winters to complete the new building. The church also faced another tragic fire which destroyed everything except the

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

walls: a few minutes after four a.m. on November 3, 1935, the building again erupted in flames. The parish celebrated

Mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

in high school auditorium for several months until the cathedral could be restored. Extensive work and money was put into its reconstruction and beautification, including elaborate

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...

work and Romanesque columns, as well as an extended

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 ...

and domes on the tops of the

steeples In architecture, a steeple is a tall tower on a building, topped by a spire and often incorporating a belfry and other components. Steeples are very common on Christian churches and cathedrals and the use of the term generally connotes a religio ...

. This church is one of around 200, including at least three other cathedrals, that incorporates the work of architectural sculptor

Corrado Parducci Corrado Giuseppe Parducci (March 10, 1900 – November 22, 1981) was an Italian-American architectural sculpture, sculptor who was a celebrated artist for his numerous early-20th century works. Early life and education Parducci was born to Giuli ...

.Carlson, Dale and Einar Kvaran, ''Corrado Parducci: A Field Guide to Detroit’s Architectural Sculptor'', Dale A. Carlson, Berkley, MI 2020, Second edition, p. 73

Burials

* Frederic Baraga *

Ignatius Mrak Ignatius Mrak (October 16, 1810 – January 2, 1901) was a Slovenian-born American prelate of the Catholic Church who served as Bishop of Sault Saint Marie and Marquette from 1869 to 1879. Biography Early life Mrak was born on October 16, 18 ...

John Vertin John Vertin (July 17, 1844 – February 26, 1899) was a Slovenian-born American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the third bishop of the Diocese of Sault Sainte Marie and Marquette in Michigan from 1879 until his death in 1899. ...

* Frederick Eis * Francis Joseph Magner * Thomas Lawrence Noa * Mark Francis Schmitt

Images

Image:Marquettecathedral.jpg, St. Peter Cathedral - southeast view

References

External links

Official Cathedral SiteDiocese of Marquette Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Peter Cathedral, Marquette Churches in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Marquette Peter Cathedral, Marquette Buildings with sculpture by Corrado Parducci Buildings and structures in Marquette, Michigan Tourist attractions in Marquette County, Michigan Roman Catholic churches completed in 1890 Roman Catholic churches completed in 1938 Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Michigan National Register of Historic Places in Marquette County, Michigan 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United States

History

Burials

Images

See also

References

External links