Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception (Syracuse, New York)

The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception
43°02′48.55″N 76°08′59.4″W / 43.0468194°N 76.149833°W
Location 240 E. Onondaga St.
Syracuse, New York 13202
Country United States
Denomination Roman Catholic
Website www.cathedralsyracuse.org
History
Founded 1830
Dedication Immaculate Conception
Consecrated 1874 (as Parish Church)
1904 (as Cathedral)
Architecture
Status Cathedral
Architect(s) Original Church Lawrence J. O'Connor
1904 Expansion Archimedes Russell
Style Gothic Revival
Completed 1874
Specifications
Materials Limestone
Administration
Diocese Diocese of Syracuse
Clergy
Bishop(s) Most Rev. Robert Joseph Cunningham
Rector Rev. Neal Quartier

The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Syracuse, New York is the mother church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse.

History

The church was initially constructed in 1874 by Lawrence J. O'Connor, and named Saint Mary's Church. Formerly under the Diocese of Albany, the Diocese of Syracuse was created in 1887. In 1904, Bishop Patrick Ludden selected Saint Mary's Church to become the new Cathedral.

Archimedes Russell, Architect was commissioned to expand the new Cathedral designing a new sanctuary and bell tower. For this purpose, the Parish purchased the La Concha Turkish bath house, demolished it and built the Cathedral’s sanctuary.

Renamed The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, the new cathedral was consecrated in 1910. For the dedication, Pope Leo XIII gave Bishop Ludden a brick taken from the Holy Door at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. When Bishop Ludden died in 1912, he was buried in the Crypt beneath the Cathedral, where three other bishops and two monsignors are also buried.

Today

In addition to offering weekend and daily masses, the Cathedral supports the Cathedral Emergency Services, offering a downtown food pantry.

Amaus Health Services at The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Syracuse, offers interim primary medical care and dental services to those who are marginalized from the health care system, serving the economically vulnerable and uninsured, especially the homeless.

The Cathedral features the Shrine of the Blessed Mother having a statue sculpted by LeMoyne College Professor Jacqueline Belfort-Chalat.

In 2013, in the area of the Sacred Heart Altar, a mosaic was installed depicting Saint Marianne Cope surrounded by her leper patients in Hawaii. Custom made in Italy, it is 10 ft. by 5 ft. Saint Marianne Cope, a Sister of Saint Francis, was raised and ministered much of her adult life in Central New York before going to Hawaii to care for the lepers (Hansen's Disease).

The Cathedral hosts local musicals and concerts performed by both area high schools, colleges, and professional groups. A selection of works by Herbert Howells played on the Cathedral’s 1892 Roosevelt-Schantz organ has been released on CD.

See also

References

External links