Cathedral of Saint Peter (Belleville, Illinois)

The Cathedral of Saint Peter is the mother church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Belleville, located in Belleville, Illinois.

Cathedral of Saint Peter
Location in Illinois
38°30′37″N 89°59′17″W
Location200 W. Harrison Street
Belleville, Illinois
CountryUnited States
DenominationRoman Catholic Church
Websitecathedralbelle.org
History
StatusCathedral
Founded1842
Architecture
StyleGothic Revival
Completed1866 (154 years ago)
Specifications
Capacity1,270
Materialsdolomitic limestone
Administration
DioceseBelleville
Clergy
Bishop(s)Most Rev. Michael G. McGovern
RectorMonsignor John T. Myler

The cathedral parish of Saint Peter was founded in 1842 at a location east of the present structure, and named after Saint Barnabas the Apostle; it was rededicated to Saint Peter in 1847. By 1863, the congregation recognized the need for a larger structure.[1] It constructed a brick church on the cathedral's present site which it dedicated in 1866.[2]

In 1887, Pope Leo XIII created the Diocese of Belleville from the southern portion of the Diocese of Alton (now the Diocese of Springfield) and named Reverend John Janssen as the first bishop.[3] Janssen chose St. Peter's as his cathedral.

The cathedral's spire

On January 4, 1912, around 6 p.m., neighborhood children noticed a fire in the upper portion of the building. Although they arrived quickly, firefighters were hampered in their efforts to extinguish the blaze by a lack of water pressure to reach the 80 ft (24 m) roof and the bitter 15 °F (−9 °C) temperatures. Water company officials blamed the poor water pressure on a broken valve at the water station. Soon, the fire burned through the roof timbers, which fell and ignited other parts of the structure. When the fire was extinguished, all that remained were the exterior walls and bell tower. One local newspaper estimated the damage at US$100,000 and said that insurance would cover only $40,000 of the repairs.[4]

The present structure's Gothic architecture was modeled after that of the Cathedral of Exeter, England.[2] It was designed by the architect Victor Klutho. The brick walls were covered with Winona split-face dolomitic limestone accented with Indiana limestone in 1956.[1] The sanctuary was renovated in 1968, to conform to directives of the Second Vatican Council, and the south end of the cathedral expanded to increase capacity to 1,270.[1] A mass in January 2012, marked the centennial of the fire and rebuilding, and also reinstallation of the pulpit and cathedra canopy which were removed during the 1968 work.[5]

The cathedral houses a three-manual, 40-rank organ by the M. P. Moller Company that dates from 1968.[6] A second console has been added along with four ranks of pipes.[2]

See also

References
  1. "Visitors Guide to St. Peter's Cathedral". greatriverroad.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-14. Retrieved 2012-01-04.
  2. "Belleville, Illinois: Arts & Entertainment". Community Profile Network. 1997. Retrieved 2012-01-04.
  3. "History of the Diocese of Springfield". Diocese of Springfield. 18 May 2010. Retrieved 2012-01-03.
  4. Hillig, Terry (7 January 2012). "Mass will mark 100th anniversary of Belleville cathedral fire". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved 2016-03-04.
  5. Very Rev. John T. Myler (1 January 2012). "Pastor's Announcement" (PDF). Cathedral of Saint Peter Bulletin. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 January 2012. Retrieved 2012-01-04.
  6. "St. Peter's Cathedral". Saint Louis Organ Archive. 16 January 2008. Retrieved 2012-01-04.

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