St. Joseph Parish, named after Saint Joseph, was founded by members of the nearby churches of St. Patrick and Holy Cross Church in 1866 to alleviate overcrowding in both congregations. Its pastor, the Rev. Edward M. Fitzgerald, began to plan for the church, raised money, formed a building committee and secured property at the corner of Broad and Fifth streets for $13,500.[1] The committee chose name St. Joseph for the new church, and selected Michael Harding as architect. Contractor John McCabe began construction June 6, 1866 with John Stoddard engaged as mason.[4]Auxiliary BishopSylvester H. Rosecrans of Cincinnati laid the cornerstone of what was then a brick structure on November 11, 1866.[5]
St. Joseph Cathedral
In 1867, Father Fitzgerald was appointed Bishop of Little Rock and Rosecrans succeeded him as pastor of St. Patrick's. On March 3, 1868, Pope Pius IX established the Diocese of Columbus and named Rosecrans as its first bishop.[6] The still under-construction St. Joseph was named its cathedral, and construction of what had initially been proposed as a brick building was temporarily halted, modifications to the existing foundations made, and plans for the present stone structure were introduced.[4][5]
Rosecrans named Robert T. Brookes to succeed Harding as architect and altered the original design of a brick structure to stone, specifically boasted ashlar quarried from Licking and Fairfield counties to befit its elevated status as a cathedral.[4] The new plans also called for a 312-foot-tall belltower with three clock faces and chimes.[5] Retired General William Rosecrans, older brother of the bishop, came to Columbus to assist with some of the design plans in the summer of 1870.[1]
Consecration
Rosecrans celebrated the first Mass in the unfinished cathedral on Christmas 1872. Soon after, Cardinal John McCloskey of New York donated marble, from the same quarry used in the construction of St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York, to construct a high altar and side altars.[1] In 1873, parish purchased the home of Joseph Gundersheimer, across Broad Street between Sixth and Seventh Streets, to house the clergy. It served until the diocese could construct a rectory attached to the cathedral.[4]
In February of that same year, John Mangan and Annie Clifford were married in the Cathedral. Their wedding was the first to take place in the church.[7]
Interior of the cathedral following its completion in 1878 and before the renovation of 1914.
Even though interior decoration of the building was incomplete, Rosecrans consecrated it on October 20, 1878. The final cost was $218,000. Rosecrans died the following day. He was interred directly beneath the main altar.[1]
Bishop James Hartley oversaw the addition of a copper roof in addition to new pews, sanctuary furniture, and pillars in 1913, at a cost of around $100,000.[4] A decade later, a new E.M. Skinner organ replaced the original 1888 organ.[5]
In 1949, Bishop Michael Ready remodeled the sanctuary and installed the present baldachin, along with a new altar of botticino marble with onyx pillars. These renovations also added a Blessed Sacrament chapel, Marian chapel, and Terce chapel dedicated to St. Joseph. These changes to the Cathedral building were completed in 1953.[9] He also razed the Deshler home and constructed the current bishop's residence and diocesan chancery building where it stood.[5][8]
John Carberry re-positioned the altar to allow for versus populum celebration of the Mass in 1965, and two years later the undercroft was excavated to create a parish hall with a kitchen, meeting rooms, and space for a bookstore. More extensive remodeling of the sanctuary began in 1978.[5]
In 1992, the exterior of the Cathedral was cleaned and restored, returning the sandstone to its original color. In 2000, the baldachino and Marian shrine were restored and re-plated. Polish artist Grzegorz Kucharski painted the depictions of the Holy Family that were hung in the apse in 2002, the same year the current organ was installed.[5]
The Cathedral interior before the renovations of 1978.
The cathedral held a Respect Life Mass on January 22, 2021, to commemorate the 48th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision, and the liturgy was disrupted by about 8 pro-abortion protestors. Some held signs calling for the repeal of the Hyde Amendment. Representatives from the police and the church escorted the protestors outside. Robert J. Brennan issued a statement, thanking law enforcement and church officials, and the faithful who were present in prayer, saying they reflect "joy, hope, and mercy that marks our pro-life witness."[10]
The Kelley house, built in 1839, housed the Cathedral School from 1907 to 1968.
Following the instructions of the Third Plenary Council of Baltimore, the parishioners of the territory of the Cathedral parish began to work to found a parochial school in 1907. They acquired the Alfred Kelley mansion, remodeling it in 1907. The modified building had 12 classrooms and opened in September of 1907. The Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, who also operated nearby Saint Joseph Academy, taught in the school. Enrollment never substantially increased, despite the opening of a Latin School for young boys hoping to enter Saint Charles Seminary from 1941 to 1944. In May of 1958, Clarence Issenmann announced the consolidation of the Cathedral school and its merger into nearby Holy Cross.[16] Diocesan officials stated that the combination of the two institutions was due to the redevelopment of Downtown Columbus along with population shifts to the suburbs.[17] The Kelley Mansion was removed from the site in 1961 and replaced by the Christopher Inn.[18] The Christoper Inn, in turn, was demolished in 1988, and the site is now a parking lot.[19]
Architecture
St. Joseph Cathedral was designed in the Gothic Revival style and built of ashlar stone quarried in Licking and Fairfield counties. The exterior dimensions of the building are 185 by 92 feet (56m ×28m) with walls 3 feet (0.91m) thick. The Broad Street (south) façade of the cathedral houses three entrances and was to be framed by two towers. The southwest tower was to rise to a height of 312 feet (95m) and contain three clock faces and a chime of ten bells. while the southeast tower was to reach a height of 200 feet (61m).[1]
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