Cathedral of Saint Patrick (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania) Influential History



The influence of Catholic religious life in the Harrisburg area has a long history.  Catholicism first came to Central Pennsylvania before the American Revolutionary War. It was German Jesuits who first constructed the first places of worship starting in 1730.  By the early 1800's there was a small Catholic mission in Harrisburg.  Along with the rest of the country Irish immigrants contributed to the growth of Harrisburg.   The Rev. Patrick Leary bought property on State Street in 1824, and the cornerstone for the first St. Patrick's church was laid two years later. The church was built for $6,500.
The Diocese of Harrisburg was established by Pope Pius IX in 1868.  St. Patrick's was named the pro-cathedral of the new diocese.   St. Patrick's first cathedral continued in this leadership role for nearly 35 years.  Beginning in 1902 Bishop John W. Shanahan proposed that a more permanent cathedral be built in the diocese. A committee was formed and they accepted the plans of Philadelphia architect George I. Lovatt, Sr.  Ground was broken for the new church in 1904 and it was completed in March 1, 1907. The cathedral was built for $250,000.
Lovatt's firm was a major benefactor of Catholic commissions during the early 1900's.  He received both local and national honors, In 1927 he was joined in the firm by his son George I. Lovatt Jr., but did not retire until 1940.
Construction was not a straight forward process.  Bodies that had been buried in the parish cemetery had to be relocated to the new Mount Calvary Cemetery. The church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a contributing property in the Harrisburg Historic District in 1976.
If you are a lover of architecture you'll appreciate St. Patrick's Cathedral.  It was designed in the Baroque Revival style of that era with Renaissance Revival influences and capped with a classically influenced dome.   The exterior of the building is covered in granite from North Carolina. The interior featured wainscoting covered in oriental marble topped with Connemara marble. The main nave is flanked by granite columns that support a vaulted ceiling. There are forty-four stained glass windows in the nave that were imported from Munich, Germany. The original altar was patterned after the Bernini altar found in the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament in St. Peter's Basilica, Rome.  The original pulpit featured carved figures that were patterned after a fresco found in the Roman Catacombs. It showed the four evangelists with the Lamb of God standing on the Mystic mount.
A bronze crucifix in the rear of the cathedral.
We honor the influence of this moving architecture and religious history in Harrisburg that continues today with the kickoff of our latest video.
See Primary Reference for More Insights

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Introducing Humans

Image
A lot of people know how popular video continues to be in helping small business owners communicate with their audience. People on their smart phones alone are a large and growing audience. Businesses know that more people think more highly of them and buy more from them using video than any other platform. But how you do your video is often very confusing for busy business owners. Most successful sales people know that most prospects  buy on emotion and use logic to rationalize their decision.  So how could you use video to create more of an emotional connection with  interested viewers? Turns out that with all the focus on technology, pixels and camera specs the most important thing is to create a more human connection.  One powerful way to do that is through the use of spokespersons. The premise of a spokesperson is actually quite simple.  It's basically a real live person talking about your business.  Sure, the owner of the business ca...
Read more

William Maclay Mansion -Home of The First President's Loudest Critic

Image
The founding fathers  checks and balance philosophy of our new nation took on its full force during the first term of Senator William Maclay.  He took on none other than President George Washington in what he saw was the ever expanding power of the Executive Branch. Before he became one of the first class of new senators in the initial two year term in our new nation, Senator Maclay was a soldier, lawyer,  surveyor, state legislator and judge. Senator Maclay was a fervent supporter of the constitution in 1787.  But it is he along with Senator James Madison that were among the first to speak loudly against the actions of the new national government. He was convicted that President Washington was unconstitutionally taking the powers of the executive branch too far beyond the powers of the states. Besides the records of Senatorial debates Maclay also was devoted to his own private congressional journal.  This is invaluable for historians to gain insight on...
Read more

Decoration Day

Image
Long before Memorial Day turned into parades and picnics to kick off the summer season there was a much more solemn origin. Imagine a war where nearly every family in the nation had a son, father or husband who served or knew someone who lost a loved one. The Civil War counted 625,000 men who died.  That's more casualties than both World Wars, Korea and Vietnam combined.  Put another way that was 2% of the population which would be about 6 million if such a devastating conflict was fought today with the current population. Putting the loss for both sides in perspective it's easy to understand why families were looking for ways to remember, heal and honor the dead. By the late 1860's many towns and cities began to hold spring time ceremonies.  They would gather to honor those who gave their lives and would decorate their graves with fresh flowers.  Prayers were often given. It wasn't until 1966 that the federal government highlighted Waterloo (ironic na...
Read more