Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul
About this property
The Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul is a Roman Catholic cathedral in the Cathedral Square neighborhood of Providence, Rhode Island, in the United States. It is the mother church of the Diocese of Providence. The Neo-Romanesque church was designed in 1873 by Patrick Keely and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. During the first decades of the 19th century, the few Catholics in Rhode Island were under the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Boston. The diocese assigned John Corry to serve as a missionary priest in Providence. He purchased a property to build the first Catholic church in the city. The Church of Saints Peter and Paul was dedicated on November 4, 1938.As Rhode Island began to industrialized, more Catholic workers started moving into the area. In 1844, Pope Gregory XVI erected the Diocese of Hartford, including the Catholics in Connecticut and Rhode Island. Its first bishop, William Tyler, elected to reside in Providence, as it had a much larger Catholic population than Hartford. Tyler consecrated Sts. Peter and Paul Church as Sts. Peter and Paul Cathedral in 1847.As the number of Catholics in Providence continued to grow, the first Sts. Peter and Paul Cathedral could not accommodate them.By 1872, the Catholic population in the diocese had grown to 200,000. Bishop Francis Patrick McFarland expressed interest in building a larger cathedral, but was unable to gain support within the diocese. Pope Pius IX in 1872 established the Diocese of Providence, encompassing Rhode Island and parts of Massachusetts. Thomas Francis Hendricken became the first bishop of Providence. Hendricken decided to build a new cathedral, but was forced to retire the diocesan debt of $16,000. After a few months, he began planning the project. In 1873, Hendricken selected church architect Patrick Keely to draw up the plans for the new cathedral. Hendricken signed a contract of $18,950 to construct the foundation of a temporary church. The diocese demolished the existing rectory and built a new one at a different location. The cornerstone for the new cathedral was laid in 1878. As construction slowly continued, Hendricken set aside $10,000 each year toward the building fund. He also mounted a series of fundraising campaigns to keep construction going as he refused to borrow money to finance it. By 1882, the contractors had finished the cathedral roof and began work on the interior. Hendricken died in 1886; his funeral mass was the first to be celebrated in the unfinished cathedral. At the time of his death, construction costs for the cathedral totaled $300,000.
Location
Categories
Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Everything a full report reveals about Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul
This page lists Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul. A full Aubrey report for an address near it pulls together this listing alongside battlefield records, land patents, and every other historical record within a chosen radius:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Questions about this property
When was Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul listed on the National Register?
Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on February 10, 1975.
What type of historic resource is Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul?
Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul?
The period of significance for Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul is recorded as the industrial era.
Can I research the history near Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul?
Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
More in Providence County
Historic places, battles, and census history across Providence County.
Explore ProvidenceCounty ›More historic places in Rhode Island
Browse all historic places in Rhode Island.
View Rhode Islandhistoric sites ›Rhode Island history
Colonial settlement, territorial period, and statehood narrative.
Rhode Islandhistory ›Research the history near this site
An Aubrey US report for an address near Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul will include this listing alongside battlefield records and other historical sources within your chosen radius.