St. Patrick Cathedral - 1920

The architectural plans for St. Patrick, designed to seat 720 worshippers, were prepared by Barnett, Haynes and Barnett of St. Louis, the architects who had designed the Cathedral Basilica in St. Louis. The impressive marble altar was donated by Michael Connerton, a local businessman and brother of Delia Lane. Seventy-five feet high, it was a duplicate of the altar in the St. Louis Cathedral and was designed by George Barnett at the request of Bishop Schuler. Location - 1118 N Mesa St, El Paso, TX 79902. (View shows corner of Mesa and Arizona.) Located downtown, the Cathedral is a work of art and it is one of El Paso’s historical landmarks. The construction began when the first stone was laid and blessed by Father Edward Barry S.J. and Father Francis Roy, S.J. on July 31, 1914, the feast day of Saint Ignatius Loyola and was dedicated Thanksgiving Day November 29,1917. The St. Louis architectural firm of Barnett, Haynes, and Barnett designed the church. The contractors were Kroeger, Mayfield and Shaw of El Paso. The style is a blend of Byzantine and Romanesque architecture. Together, the clergy and townspeople built the Cathedral as a beautiful expression of Faith that provided an uplifting environment for Catholic worship and an inspiring place for private prayer. Whether you have come to pray or simply to view the beauty, we hope you are nourished in spirit and will return again to the Cathedral of Saint Patrick. On April 3, 1914, the Vatican under Pope Pius X elevated and es tab li shed El Paso as a Diocese. In June, 1915, after the death of Pope Pius X, Pope Benedict XV appointed Rev. Anthony J. Schuler, S.J., as the first Bishop of the Diocese of El Paso. Bishop Schuler announced that upon his arrival in El Paso he planned to take the new St. Patrick Church as his Cathedral. http://saintpatrickcathedral.org/history/