Cathedral of Saint Patrick (Charlotte, North Carolina)

Saint Patrick's Church Saint Patrick's Church in Charlotte was the forerunner of the Cathedral of Saint Patrick. During the early 20th century, Saint Peter's Parish, founded in 1851, was the only one serving Catholics in Charlotte. By the late 1930s, a second parish was needed in the city to meet the needs of the growing population. On March 17, 1938, construction began on Saint Patrick, a mission church of Saint Peter's. It was funded by the philanthropist John Henry Phelan. The congregation hired the Austrian architect Frank Frimmer to design the church. Cathedral of Saint Patrick In 1972, Pope Paul VI erected the Diocese of Charlotte and designated Saint Patrick's Church as the Cathedral of Saint Patrick. Monsignor Richard Allen was appointed as its first rector. A permanent copper roof was installed on the cathedral in 2000. In 2007, the parish installed a bell in the bell tower. It was originally cast in 1875 in St. Louis, Missouri. A family life center was added to the church campus in 2008. Five months later, the diocese was forced to close the cathedral for several months to repair leaks in the copper roof and address water damage to the plaster walls in the building. They also used the shutdown to add gold leaf to the stations of the cross and the arches. The diocese postponed its plans for a new cathedral in July 2025. They decided to instead raise money to assist parishes that had suffered hurricane damage. In addition, they learned that since the proposed site was outside the Charlotte city limits, it could not be designated as the see of Charlotte. ==Architectural features==

Description Saint Patrick has a gray stucco face and a 77-foot (23.7m) bell tower. The nave seats 400 worshippers. The cathedral has two side chapels, serving as shrines to the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph. The ceiling has 300 tiles. The main altar contains relics of Saint Jucundus and Justina of Padua, a Roman saint and martyr of the 4th century CE. The balcony contains the pipe organ, designed and manufactured by W. Zimmer and Sons of Fort Mill, South Carolina. It replaced the original Moller pipe organ. Stained glass windows The stained glass windows were designed at the Henry Keck Studios in Syracuse, New York. They depict the following biblical scenes: • Annunciation of the Lord Jesus to Mary • Saint Patrick – British bishop in Ireland in the 5th Century • Death of Saint Joseph – husband of Mary, mother of Jesus • David – reported king of Israel in the 9th century BCE • Cecilia of Rome – Roman martyr and saint of the 2nd century CE. A second set of stained glass windows depict scenes from the life of Jesus: • The nativity of Jesus • The presentation of Jesus at the temple of Jerusalem • The finding of Jesus in the temple • Jesus blessing the children • Jesus with the rich young man • Jesus healing the blind • Jesus and Mary Magdalene • The agony of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemanes • The crucifixion of Jesus • The ascension of Jesus into heaven File:Cathedral Church of Saint Patrick (Charlotte, North Carolina) - St. Patrick statue.JPG|Statue of Saint Patrick (2016) File:Cathedral Church of Saint Patrick (Charlotte, North Carolina) - stained glass, Death of St. Joseph.JPG|Death of Saint Joseph stained glass window (2016) File:St. Patrick - Charlotte 07.jpg|Roundel window (2026) File:Cathedral Church of Saint Patrick (Charlotte, North Carolina) - stained glass, Crucifixion of Christ.JPG|Crucifixion stained glass window (2016 File:Cathedral Church of Saint Patrick (Charlotte, North Carolina) - Marian grotto.JPG|Marian grotto (2016) File:Cathedral Church of Saint Patrick (Charlotte, North Carolina) - cathedra.JPG|Cathedra (2016) ==See also==