| Saint Patrick | |
|---|---|
| Cathedral Parish and School | |
| Roman Catholic Diocese of El Paso | |
| Patron: | St Patrick, Patron of Ireland |
| Location: | El Paso/Texas |
| Date of Foundation: | 8 April 1914 - 12 November 1916 |
| Style: | Historism, Neo-Italian Renaissance |
| Rector: | Rev Richard A Matty |
| Bishop: | Sede vacante[1] |
| Website: | [2] |
The Cathedral Parish of St Patrick is the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of El Paso, Texas. It is located at 1118 N. Mesa St. in the heart of the downtown area. This see is vacant as the previous bishop, His Excellency, the Most Reverend Armando Xavier Ochoa, was named as prelate of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fresno, California on 1 December, 2011[3]. The cathedral is the mother church for 656,000 Catholics in the diocese(as of the 2004 survey), and also operates one of El Paso's Catholic high schools, Cathedral High School, and St Patrick Elementary School adjacent to the church.
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The church was designed by Barnett, Haynes & Barnett, an architectural firm from St Louis, Missouri. It was built in the form of a Byzantine basilica, in the Italian Renaissance style. The ground was broken on 8 April 1914 and the church and the cornerstone were blessed in a ceremony by Fr Edward Barry on 12 November 1916. The interior of the cathedral is adorned with Roman columns, elaborate frescoes that depict biblical scenes and the Stations of the Cross are carved in bas-relief on the interior walls. The high altar contains a 2.5M tall statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus 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 one will find a picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe and a life-size classical sculpture of St Patrick. The stained-glass windows are colourful examples of the glassmaker's art, and depict scenes from the life of Jesus and the Church.
Because of the Anticlerical Laws that were a result of the Mexican Constitution of 1857 and the Mexican Revolution, the Catholic Church found herself increasingly suppressed by the governments of dictators Alvaro Obregon and Plutarco Calles. Basic rights such as involvement in politics, freedom of worship and redress of grievances were severely curtailed and even denied to bishops, priests, deacons and laity. 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 were forced to study abroad, usually in the United States, and mostly in cities close to the U.S.-Mexican border.
El Paso was especially popular because of its closeness to Mexico. During these years, many seminarians from northern Mexico studied in El Paso, and were ordained to the priesthood here. One such was Pedro Maldonado Lucero, who was ordained by Bishop Anthony J Schuler, S.J. in the cathedral on 25 January 1918. Padre Maldonado returned to his native Chihuahua to minister to the faithful. He was beaten to death in 1937 at the hands of town authorities in Santa Isabel (at that time named General Trias as there were many attempts to rename towns with religious names), Chihuahua, for the crime of preaching the Gospel and teaching the catechism to the people there. He was buried in the Cathedral of Chihuahua, and canonised by Pope John Paul II on 21 May 2000 as one of the companions of St Christopher Magallanes. A memorial in the nave of St Patrick commemorates the event of his ordination.
Also included in the Borderlands series is additional information concerning El Paso and the cathedral.