St. Mary's Cathedral and Rectory
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Fall River, Massachusetts
Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, in the United States. It is located about south of Boston, southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, and west of New Bedford and south of Taunton. The city's population was 88,857 during the 2010 census, making it the tenth largest city in...
. It is the cathedral
Cathedral
A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...
of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fall River
Roman Catholic Diocese of Fall River
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Fall River is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the New England region of the United States. It is led by the prelature of a bishop administering the diocese from the mother church St...
. The cathedral, built in 1852, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983, as St. Mary's Cathedral and Rectory. It is the oldest extant church building in the city of Fall River, and was one of the city's first Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
parishes. Like several other cathedrals around the world, as well as a French parish in the city, the cathedral is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
The church's cornerstone was laid on August 8, 1852 by Bishop John Fitzpatrick
John Bernard Fitzpatrick
John Bernard Fitzpatrick was an Irish American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Boston from 1846 until his death in 1866.-Early life and education:...
of the Diocese of Botson
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the New England region of the United States. It comprises several counties of the state of Massachusetts...
, on the site of the former Saint John the Baptist
John the Baptist
John the Baptist was an itinerant preacher and a major religious figure mentioned in the Canonical gospels. He is described in the Gospel of Luke as a relative of Jesus, who led a movement of baptism at the Jordan River...
Church. It was dedicated by Bishop Fitzpatrick on December 16, 1855, and its steeple was finished in 1858. In 1872 the church became a part of the newly created Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence
Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence is a diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States. The diocese was erected by Pope Pius IX on February 17, 1872 and originally comprised the entire state of Rhode Island and the counties of Bristol, Barnstable, Dukes and Nantucket in the state...
. In 1901 it was consecrated by Bishop Matthew Harkins
Matthew Harkins
Matthew Harkins was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Providence from 1887 until his death in 1921.-Biography:...
of Providence, and in 1904 it was named by Pope Pius X
Pope Pius X
Pope Saint Pius X , born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto, was the 257th Pope of the Catholic Church, serving from 1903 to 1914. He was the first pope since Pope Pius V to be canonized. Pius X rejected modernist interpretations of Catholic doctrine, promoting traditional devotional practices and orthodox...
the cathedral church of the newly founded Diocese, its seat first held by Bishop William Stang
William Stang
William Stang was a German-born prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as the first Bishop of Fall River from 1904 until his death in 1907.-Biography:...
.
The church and the entire steeple are stonework (save for the gilded cross at its 190-foot high apex), with a shingled roof. Its interior includes intricate woodwork, with some gilding above the sanctuary. It is attached to the rectory, chapels and diocesan offices to the rear by a colonnade. The cathedral is one of several grand Catholic churches built in the city during its heyday as an industrial center, including St. Anne Shrine
St. Anne's Church and Parish Complex
St. Anne's Church and Parish Complex is an historic church complex located at 818 Middle Street Fall River, Massachusetts. It is part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fall River. In addition to the church, the complex also includes the former rectory as well as the former Dominican Academy,...
, the Good Shepherd Church (formerly Saint Patrick's), Sacred Heart Church, Espirito Santo, and Saint Joseph's Church, as well as several that have since been lost, including St. Matthieu's in the North End (taken by eminent domain in the 1960s) and Notre Dame de Lourdes in the Flint, which was destroyed in one of the city's most famous conflagrations on May 11, 1982.