St. Stephen 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 ...

and

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

located in

Owensboro, Kentucky Owensboro is a Home rule in the United States, home rule-class city in Daviess County, Kentucky, United States, of which it is also the county seat. It is the List of cities in Kentucky, fourth-most populous city in the state. Owensboro is loca ...

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 is the seat of the Diocese of Owensboro.

History

In the early years of Daviess County priests would celebrate Mass in the homes of the settlers. The first church dedicated to St. Stephen in Owensboro was built in 1839 and the Rev. John C. Wathen was appointed the parish's first pastor. As the town and parish continued to grow a larger church was needed and so a second church was built on the same site as the first in 1856. The present church was built on Locust Street between 1924 and 1926. On December 9, 1937

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII (; born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli; 2 March 18769 October 1958) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death on 9 October 1958. He is the most recent p ...

established the Diocese of Owensboro. St. Stephen's was chosen as the new diocese's cathedral. The first Bishop of Owensboro,

Francis Ridgley Cotton Francis Ridgley Cotton O.P. (September 19, 1895—September 25, 1960) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the first bishop of the new Diocese of Owensboro in Kentucky from 1938 to 1960. Biography Early life O ...

, was consecrated in St. Stephen's Cathedral on February 24, 1938. The roof of the cathedral was restored in 2007, replacing existing shingles with

Ludowici Ludowici may refer to: * Ludowici, Georgia, a town * Ludowici Well Pavilion, a historic site * Ludowici Roof Tile Ludowici Roof Tile, LLC., based in New Lexington, Ohio, is an American manufacturer of clay roof tiles, floor tiles, and wall clad ...

tiles. On 29 May 2017, the cathedral hosted the funeral of

Nicky Hayden Nicholas Patrick Hayden (July 30, 1981 May 22, 2017), nicknamed "The Kentucky Kid", was an American professional motorcycle racer who won the MotoGP World Championship in 2006. Hayden began racing motorcycles at a young age. He began his road ...

, the former MOTO GP and Owensboro native who died in

Cesena Cesena (; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy; and - with Forlì - is the capital of the Province of Forlì-Cesena. Served by Autostrada A14 (Italy), Autostrada A14, and located near the Apennine M ...

, Italy, after a road accident in

Rimini Rimini ( , ; or ; ) is a city in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. Sprawling along the Adriatic Sea, Rimini is situated at a strategically-important north-south passage along the coast at the southern tip of the Po Valley. It is ...

while he was training on a bicycle.

Catholic schools

The first school in Daviess County was St. Francis Academy. It was opened by the

Sisters of Charity of Nazareth The Sisters of Charity of Nazareth (SCN) is an American Catholic order of religious sisters founded in 1812 near Bardstown, Kentucky. There, three young women responded to Bishop John Baptist Mary David's call for assistance in ministering to t ...

in 1849. The same year that St. Stephen's became a cathedral, 1939, its first parish school opened on Frederica Streets with five grades. In 1951

Owensboro Catholic High School Owensboro Catholic High School is a private, Roman Catholic high school in Owensboro, Kentucky, United States. It is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Owensboro. History Owensboro Catholic opened in September 1951, replacing the closing ...

replaced St. Francis Academy. A new St. Stephen's school opened in 1962 on Locust Street. The parochial schools in Owensboro consolidated in 1989 and used the building at St. Angela Merici for the new school. That same year a preschool opened at St. Stephen's.

References

External links

Official Cathedral SiteDiocese of Owensboro Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Stephen Cathedral, Owensboro 1839 establishments in Kentucky Churches in Owensboro, Kentucky Italianate architecture in Kentucky Religious organizations established in 1839 Stephen Owensboro Roman Catholic churches completed in 1926 Roman Catholic Diocese of Owensboro 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United States Italianate church buildings in the United States

History

Catholic schools

See also

References

External links