Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception in Indiana

Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception in Indiana

The Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception is a cathedral of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lafayette in Indiana. It is the seat of the bishop of the Diocese of Lafayette in Indiana.

Cathedral History

In 1843, a small group of Catholic families met for Mass each Sunday in a rented room at the back of a bookstore on Fourth Street. Most of the families were of Irish descent. The pastor was Fr. Michael J. Clarke. This was the start of the present congregation of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception.

By 1844, enough money had been raised to build a church. Constructed of brick on the corner of Fifth and Brown Streets, it was completed in 1846 and named the Church of Saints Mary and Martha. In 1850, the parish built a school house where the children were taught by two lay teachers. The Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods came to Lafayette and took over administration of the school in 1858. Reverend Edmund Burke Kilroy became pastor of the parish in 1859 and the next year local resident Lawrence B. Stockton designated a plot of land on Columbia Street to be used to build a church, rectory and school.

In 1861, the grading and foundation for the new church on Columbia Street was completed. It would be called St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception. Construction was interrupted when the Civil War broke out in April 1861. In late 1861, Fr. Kilroy was replaced by Rev. George A. Hamilton as pastor.

After the war was over and funds became available, Fr. Hamilton saw to the completion of the church and rectory. The Gothic Revival style structure was completed and dedicated on August 15, 1866. One of Fr. Hamilton’s closest friends, an American Indian named William Burnett Davis, willed half his estate of $75,000 to St. Mary. This $37,500 amounted to half of the cost of the building. When Fr. Hamilton died in 1875, he was buried in the basement of the Church. Another grave is present but unmarked. Legend has it that Fr. Hamilton had buried his Indian friend, Bill Davis, in the basement without telling the congregation.

In late 1944, the new Diocese of Lafayette-in-Indiana was created. St. Mary Church was chosen to be the Cathedral for the diocese. The first bishop of this new diocese, Reverend John G. Bennett, was installed on January 10, 1945.

Many changes have been made in the Cathedral over the years. An extensive interior renovation and construction of a gathering space and social hall was dedicated on April 26, 2001 by Bishop William L. Higi.

Cathedral Renovation

The year was 1996. Father Richard Weisenberger had been pastor of the Cathedral of St. Mary of Immaculate Conception for six years. With a group of volunteers, Building Committee Chairman, Michael L. Gibson, that year had repaired and painted the parish's old convent and converted the building into parish offices. After that, Mr. Gibson recalled Father Weisenberger saying, "I think we need to paint the church." In October 1996, Mr. Gibson and about 40 others discussed what painting the then-130-year-old building would entail. Of concern were "maintenance items" which had been determined in a 1991 study conducted by Scholer Corporation.

Robert Gloyeske, Architect Chairman with Scholer Corporation, said exterior work was an obvious and immediate need. A St. Mary parishioner himself, Mr. Gloyeske said the physical condition of the building needed to be addressed before anyone focused on the inside. The building was structurally sound and "capable of being renovated," Mr. Gloyeske said.

"The concept of the first project was to stabilize the skin of the building," he said. Called "shamrock," the cement-colored outer shell has covered the building since the 1920s, protecting the poor quality brick from erosion.

"We stabilized the building ... to make it last another 130 years," he said. "The roof, the exterior, sheet metal, gutters, the steeple were all done." The foundations were strong. The copper and gold-leafed steeple cross was taken down, regilded and put back into place.

Once Bishop William L. Higi made the decision to continue with St. Mary as the diocesan cathedral in 1998, pastor and parishioners committed to the challenge of fund raising and outfitting the interior with long-needed requisites of a church containing "the bishop's chair." Parishioner surveys showed support for the project and interest in adding a social hall, which also would accommodate diocesan events. History and a hilltop location overlooking the see city cannot be duplicated, Mr. Gibson said.

St. Mary was not built as a cathedral, so the sanctuary and sacristy were too small for the number of priests during diocesan events. Also lacking were a diocesan oils ambry, a gathering space, a social hall, accessible restrooms, and two requests that Bishop Higi had: air conditioning and a new sound system.

Architects had to retain the integrity of the American Gothic style while planning improvements in a manner that blended unobtrusively, Mr. Gloyeske said. Adding air conditioning while remaining true to the building was most difficult, architects said.

Design architect with Scholer Corporation for the project was Stephan Goffinet.

"We didn't need contractors as much as we needed miners at that point," Mr. Goffinet said, referring to the ductwork tunneled in rock-hard clay beneath the building. Air conditioning vents are hidden in false side walls and returns are in the floor. Air handlers are on the roof of a new working sacristy, behind the sanctuary. The old sacristy was removed and the space rebuilt to accommodate more people and storage.

An acoustical consultant helped determine needs and options for better sound quality. Rambusch Decorating Company of New York helped determine appropriate lighting options. Workers replaced glass in the church's chandeliers, which have been rewired and moved from the center to the outer vaults of the ceiling. New lighting emphasizes architectural elements of the church, Mr. Gloyeske said. Light now emanates from column capitals, and all interior lighting is programmable for different liturgical considerations.

The building committee consulted with Conrad Schmitt Studios of New Berlin, Wisconsin, for the interior color scheme. "Painting" included plaster restoration, stenciling, gilding, glazing and mural restoration. A canvas of fiberglass covers all wall and ceiling surfaces.

The church now has light oak flooring oak pews, and mahogany frames for the Stations of the Cross with wood stain becoming darker from the floor upward. Sanctuary marble is Bottocino Classico and Rouge France Incamet (French Red). The stained glass windows were clean and overglazing added.

Sharon Hueckel, parish Director of Administration, said Bishop Higi made a leap of faith in his decision to overhaul the cathedral instead of starting from scratch.

"It's an interesting juxtaposition to put brand new construction next to very, very old construction," Mrs. Hueckel said.

"We wanted to improve the church immensely in every way, but I still wanted the character of St. Mary's to be what it was when it was built," Mr. Gloyeske said. "We've brought it into the 21st century but we haven't made it into a modern church."

Liturgical consultants and various committees helped to determine what elements were necessary in a cathedral versus a parish church, Mr. Goffinet said.

Re-occurring motifs blend the new with the old. Carefully placed throughout -- on pews, in the Blessed Sacrament chapel, even in door handles and outdoor light fixtures -- are patterns of Gothic arches and quatrefoils (a four-lobed, clover-liked design). Design elements from the interior's original decorations are used, such as trompe l'oeil (a painted "trick of the eye" that appears as wooden molding) atop the Gothic arches and the Eucharistic-themed gold leafing in the apse.

People's hearts were in the project, Mr. Gibson said. "We raised over $5 million in less than 100 days in pledges. People wanted to have this project done. It was due," he said. "We've had over 600 volunteers on this project, from the fundraising all the way through." Bishop Higi added nearly $2.8 million of diocesan funds to the pledges, and North central Indiana's parishes have given $191,000.

"What's unique about this project, in terms of what I think, is how many priests have been involved in it. No one priest can take credit," said Father Bob Klemme, pastor since 2000. Msgr. Fred Potthoff's support has been vital, he said, as has the leadership of past pastors, Father Weisenberger and Father David Hellmann.

Parishioners were displaced from their church for 11 months, but parish life continued throughout the renovation. Dan Schrader, a building committee member, said schoolchildren were maneuvered safely around construction, to the credit of both Scholer Corporation and J.R. Kelly, the general contractor. Mrs. Hueckel said Chris Burke, construction project superintendent, took special care to assure the children's safety.

The outcome has been a cathedral campus outfitted to meet diocesan as well as parish needs, at a third of the cost of building a new cathedral, Mr. Gibson said.

The building now complies with U.S. Bishops' guidelines and the Americans with Disabilities Act, with wheelchair accessibility from both the lower and upper parking lots, in restrooms and even the sanctuary. A social hall with seating for 500 and a Diocesan Memorial Plaza help to accentuate the parish building's role as the diocese's mother church. Parking was neither lost nor gained, and land for future parking has been acquired.

A 25-year master plan calls for later expansion of St. Mary School, Mr. Gibson said. The next step in construction is finishing the social hall's lower level.

A new century and $8.2 million after initial planning, the church has been painted -- and transformed. It is the magnificent "new" cathedral of the Diocese of Lafayette-in-Indiana, where the grandeur of more than a century remains.

Mr. Gibson counts 500 meetings to plan and execute the project. About what has been accomplished he reflects, "It does give you a sense that you are in the presence of God."

Source: Commemorative Booklet for the 2001 Renovation (Produced by the Pastoral Office for Planning and Communications, Diocese of Lafayette-in-Indiana)

External links

* [http://www.saintmarycathedral.org The Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception]
* [http://www.dioceseoflafayette.org Catholic Diocese of Lafayette-in-Indiana]
* [http://robertpence.com/lafay_10-05/lafay_10-05_1148.jpgExterior photo of Saint Mary]
* [http://www.saintmarycathedral.org/images/9805-300-13.jpgInterior photo of Saint Mary]


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