Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Mobile

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Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception is the motherchurch of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mobile.

The Cathedral-Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, is the seat of the Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mobile. The cathedral is named for Mary, mother of Jesus, under her title, Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception.

Located at 2 S. Claiborne St., in downtown Mobile, Alabama, at coordinates: 30°41′24″N, 88°02′45″W. It is bounded by Dauphin St. on the north; Franklin St. on the west; and Conti St. on the south . The building, laid out in an east-west axis, is 164 ft. long and 90 ft. wide. The ceiling is 60 ft. at its highest point, and its twin towers rise to 103 ft. The front of the church faces east, toward the direction of the Mobile River.

The cathedral, designed in 1833, by Claude Beroujon, a former seminarian turned architect, is laid out in a Roman basilica design. Construction began in 1835, but the Panic of 1837, caused a shortage of funds and delayed progress. The cathedral was consecrated for public worship in 1850, by Bishop Michael Portier, though Beroujon’s design was not yet fully realized. The portico and towers were to come later.

On May 25, 1865, a Union Army ammunition depot exploded, killing some 300 persons, and burning much of Mobile. The windows and sashes on the north side of the cathedral were blown in by the explosion. Fortunately, there were no services being held in the cathedral at the time.

The classical portico, with eight massive columns of the Roman Doric order, was added in the 1870’s, under the direction of Bishop John Quinlan. The twin towers were completed in 1884, during the watch of Bishop Jeremiah O'Sullivan.

One of the cathedral’s finest attributes is its stained glass windows. The windows were made in Munich, Germany by Franz Mayer & Co., and installed beginning in 1890. The last window was installed in 1910, during the time of Bishop Edward Patrick Allen. The twelve main windows, six on the south wall and six on the north wall, are approximately 8 feet wide and 23 feet tall. Each window depicts an event involving Mary in the life of her son, Jesus. The subjects of the south wall windows are Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, the Presentation of Mary, the Annunciation, the Visitation, the Nativity of Jesus, and the Holy Family. The themes of the north wall are Finding of the Child Jesus at the Temple, the Marriage Feast of Cana, the Crucifixion of Jesus, Pentecost, the Assumption of Mary, and the Coronation of Mary, Queen of Heaven.

The Reconciliation Room houses a window depicting the Baptism of Jesus. St. Cecilia, patron saint of music, is the subject of the window in the stairway to the choir loft. Eight smaller windows can be found in the doors at the entrance to the cathedral.

Disaster struck on March 19, 1954, when a homeless man, seeking shelter in the church, caused a fire that destroyed the sanctuary. The church still stood, but the interior suffered damage from fire, smoke, and water from the firefighters’ attempt to control the blaze. The damaged stained glass windows were repaired and restored in Munich at the workshops of Franz Mayer, using the original drawings as a guide. Bishop Thomas Joseph Toolen’s restoration efforts included the addition of a massive bronze baldachin, supported by four marble columns, and a new mahogany cathedra and pulpit. A new organ, built by the Wicks Organ Company, was installed and is in use today.

In the 1970’s Bishop John L. May made modifications to the sanctuary in compliance with the 1970, General Instruction of the Roman Missal. [1] The altar was moved forward and the altar rails were removed. The cathedra was moved to its present location on the south end of the sanctuary facing the congregation. At this time, Bishop May also added a bronze representation of the Risen Christ above the baldachin and a large crucifix over the tabernacle.

Archbishop Oscar Lipscomb led the most recent restoration effort, earlier this decade. Under his direction, the cast iron fence was restored and repaired, and the cathedral exterior was cleaned and repaired. An interior overhaul, executed by Conrad Schmitt Studios, included a coffer ceiling above the main aisle. The coffers are decorated with alternating gold-leafed fleur-de-lis and shamrock, symbolically representing the Trinity, as well as the contributions of the French and Irish religious to the life of the Archdiocese. New lighting and a new color scheme brightens the interior. White marble flooring was installed in the aisles and the heart pine floors under the pews were refinished. Embedded in the marble floor of the main aisle are the coats-of-arms of the Mobile bishops and archbishops. A mural of the Tree of Jesse was installed above the pipe organ.

In 1962, Pope John XXIII elevated the cathedral to a minor basilica, a title bestowed, only by the pope, on churches of historical and spiritual importance. A basilica is entitled to have its own coat-of-arms. Other basilica insignia include Pope John XXIII's personal coat-of-arms installed above the cathedral entrance, the yellow and red Umbracullum, or umbrella, and tintinabulum, or bell, in the sanctuary.