Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception (Burlington, Vermont)

Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception
The former cathedral in 2022
44°28′47.05″N73°12′53.56″W / 44.4797361°N 73.2148778°W / 44.4797361; -73.2148778
Location	20 Pine Street Burlington, Vermont
Country	United States
Denomination	Catholic Church
History
Status	Desacralized
Founded	1830
Dedication	Immaculate Conception
Dedicated	May 26, 1977
Architecture
Architect(s)	Edward Larrabee Barnes Alistair Bevington (associate architect) Toshiko Mori (interiors and furnishings) Dan Kiley (landscape architect)
Style	Modern
Completed	1977
Closed	December 2018
Specifications
Capacity	450 [1]
Materials	Brick, Standing Seam Copper
Administration
Diocese	Burlington

The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Burlington, Vermont, United States, is the former cathedral church of the Catholic Diocese of Burlington. The building is located at 20 Pine Street with grounds bounded by Pearl, St. Paul and Cherry Streets. In 2018, it was announced that the building would no longer serve as a Catholic church. After sitting vacant, and listed for sale, the diocese sought and received a permit for its demolition.

History

The original cathedral

The parish was founded as St. Mary's in 1830. The parish church that was built in 1841 became the pro-cathedral when the diocese was established in 1852. ^[2]

1867 cathedral

Construction of the first Immaculate Conception Cathedral began in 1862 and continued until 1867. Progress was slowed because of the American Civil War. The Chapel of St. Patrick, which was located behind the cathedral, was completed first. The Gothic Revival cathedral built of locally quarried redstone was designed by prominent Brooklyn, New York architect Patrick Keely. Other local materials used in its construction were marble and slate from around Rutland and limestone from the Isle La Motte. ^[1] It was the first Catholic church building in New England that was designed, built, and dedicated as a cathedral. ^[2]

The church was consecrated on December 8, 1867, by Bishop Louis de Goesbriand without a completed tower. It was finished in 1904 under the direction of Bishop John Michaud who also commissioned the statue of Notre Dame de Lourdes that was placed on top of its blunted spire. The statue was composed of vulcanized copper covered with gold leaf and stood 14 feet (4.3 m) tall. ^[2] The altar in the cathedral had to be reset in 1936 after vibrations from traffic on the surrounding streets caused it to sink. A major interior renovation was undertaken in 1949 in preparation for the diocesan centennial.

This church served as the diocesan cathedral until it was destroyed by arson on March 13, 1972. While firefighters tried to contain the blaze, the bell tower collapsed shortly after midnight. Timothy Austin confessed to the police that he set the fire. He later pleaded innocent by reason of insanity and was sent for treatment at the state hospital. ^[3]

Bell tower

1977 cathedral

In 1974, New York City architect Edward Larrabee Barnes was chosen to design a new cathedral on the same property. ^[4] The project architect was then associate Alistair Bevington (made partner in the 80's). Barnes and Bevington used as inspiration the Billings Memorial Library at the University of Vermont, designed by Henry Hobson Richardson. ^[1] The modern five-sided sanctuary is composed of low brick walls in bands of green and dark brown covered by a high standing seam copper roof, clerestory, and facade. A large cross caps the gabled roof of the clerestory. Because of a decline in the Catholic population, the seating capacity was set at 450. A rectangular-shaped structure of one and two-stories is connected to the front of the sanctuary by a wide hyphen. It contains a gathering space on the main floor and it is capped with a flat roof. The "Great Cross" stained glass window in the west wall of the sanctuary was designed by glass artist Robert Sowers, and the ten semi-circular windows in the apse were designed by glass artist David Wilson. ^[5] The interiors and furnishings were designed by architect Toshiki Mori, who worked in the Barnes office at the time. The tabernacle was designed by Bevington and the marble baptismal font, by Mary Barnes. ^[6]

Vermont landscape architect Dan Kiley was commissioned to plan the park-like setting. He and Barnes collaborated on the entire project. Kiley positioned the building in the center of the block facing Pine Street. The property is planted with 123 uniformly spaced locust trees. They are placed within a grid pattern created by the straight concrete walkways that form geometric lawn panels that mirror the sharp angular form of the cathedral. The trees visually shield the cathedral from its urban setting and create a sense of calm at a busy intersection. A juxtaposition is also created between the building's green and brown brick walls and copper roof with the light green leaves and dark brown trunks of the trees. ^[7] A free-standing steel bell tower near the corner of Cherry and St. Paul Streets is where the old cathedral was located. ^[1] The 4,500-pound (2,000 kg) bell was rescued from the ruins of the destroyed cathedral. It had been acquired by the parish in 1900 after its original bell, from the 1841 church, cracked the previous year. The entire building and landscaping project was completed in March 1977 and dedicated on May 26 of the same year by Bishop John Marshall.

The pipe organ located behind the altar was built by Casavant Frères of Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec in 1980. It features two manuals, three divisions, 16 stops, 16 registers, 20 ranks, and 1,000 pipes. ^[8] Its manual compass is 56 notes and its pedal compass is 32 notes. The organ has an attached keydesk. It was first used during a recital by Jane Bergeron on August 27, 1980.

Parish decline and closure

The catheral in its landscaped setting.

Urban renewal affected the parish as the neighborhoods that once surrounded and supported it were removed. ^[9] In 1999, Saint Joseph Church in Burlington was named the co-cathedral for the diocese. Because of low attendance and finances, the process for merging the two Burlington Catholic cathedrals began in 2017. The number of parishioners at Immaculate Conception had declined to fewer than 100. ^[9] Sunday Masses were celebrated at St. Joseph, while Immaculate Conception had a weekday Mass at Noon and a monthly Mass in Vietnamese. Parishioners could have requested to have their baptisms, weddings, and funerals held there as well. ^[10] The title to the Immaculate Conception property transferred to St. Joseph Parish. In April 2018 Immaculate Conception lost its cathedral status, and later in the year Bishop Christopher Coyne issued a decree relegating the building to secular use. ^{[9] [11]} On October 11, 2018, the Diocese of Burlington announced that it would sell the property. The last Mass was celebrated in the church on December 8, 2018. ^[12]

The diocese applied for a permit to demolish the church building in December 2021. ^[13] The permit was issued in early 2023. ^[14]

See also

• List of Catholic cathedrals in the United States
• List of cathedrals in the United States

References

1. "Depression Era Streetscapes Burlington, Vermont: South of Pearl Street & Colchester Avenue". The University of Vermont. Archived from the original on 2014-11-23. Retrieved 2019-06-18.
2. Blow, David. "Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception Burlington, Vermont". A Cathedral for Burlington. John Fisher Sr. Archived from the original on 2013-05-01. Retrieved 2013-02-27.
3. Parsons, Marselis. "Church fires in Burlington's past". WCAX-TV. Archived from the original on 2014-01-01. Retrieved 2013-12-31.
4. Colman, Devin. "Dan Kiley Landscape at Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception". The Cultural Landscape Foundation. Archived from the original on 2013-10-21. Retrieved 2013-02-27.
5. A Commemorative of the Solemn Liturgy of Dedication of the Cathedral Church of the Immaculate Conception of the Diocese of Burlington, Vermont. 1977. p. 47.
6. Barnes, Edward Larrabee (1994). Edward Larrabee Barnes, Architect (1st ed.). New York, NY: Rizzoli. pp. 182–189. ISBN   0-8478-1822-5.
7. "The Cultural Landscape Foundation's 2012 Landslide Landscape and Patronage: Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception". The Cultural Landscape Foundation. Archived from the original on 2020-09-28. Retrieved 2019-06-18.
8. "Casavant Frères Ltd. Opus 3361 (1980)". OHS Pipe Organ Database. Archived from the original on 2023-02-19. Retrieved 2019-06-18.
9. D'Ambrosio, Dan (October 11, 2018). "Burlington's Immaculate Conception, once a cathedral, to be sold". Burlington Free Press . Archived from the original on 2023-02-19. Retrieved 2019-06-16.
10. Baird, Joel Banner (January 6, 2017). "Catholic parishes eye merger in Burlington". Burlington Free Press . Archived from the original on 2023-02-19. Retrieved 2017-01-25.
11. Kane, Ellen (April 19, 2018). "Cathedrals' status changes". Vermont Catholic. Archived from the original on 2019-06-16. Retrieved 2019-06-16.
12. Urban, Cori (December 13, 2018). "Final Mass at Immaculate Conception Church". Vermont Catholic. Archived from the original on 2019-06-16. Retrieved 2019-06-16.
13. "Vermont Catholic church seeks demolition of former cathedral". Associated Press . December 22, 2021. Archived from the original on 2022-10-27. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
14. D'Ambrosio, Dan (13 January 2023). "Former Cathedral of Immaculate Conception to be demolished". Burlington Free Press. Archived from the original on 19 February 2023. Retrieved 18 January 2023.

External links

• Media related to Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception (Burlington, Vermont) at Wikimedia Commons
• Diocese of Burlington Official Site