Cathedral Santuario de Guadalupe

The Cathedral Santuario de Guadalupe (Cathedral Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe) is the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Dallas. The structure dates from the late 19th century [http://www.cathedralguadalupe.org/ Catherdral Santuario de Guadalupe] - [http://www.cathedralguadalupe.org/about/history.cfm History] . Retrieved on 29 April 2007.] and is located in the Arts District of downtown Dallas, Texas. The church oversees the second largest Catholic church membership in the United States. Its average Sunday attendance is 11,200.

History

Background

In 1869, Dallas's first Catholic parish, Sacred Heart Church, was established by the Bishop of Galveston. The church was built in 1872 and was located at Bryan and Ervay Streets, near present-day St. Paul Station.

In 1890, Dallas was established as a diocese, and Sacred Heart became the diocesan cathedral of Dallas with Bishop Thomas Brennan acting as the first bishop. Along with Dallas' tremendous growth at the time, the parish soon outgrew its church building, and the need for a new cathedral arose.

Construction

The property on which the current Cathedral is now located was purchased for US$30,000, which adjusted for inflation, is equivalent to over $600,000 in 2007. [scaps|side note: Using a [http://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/cpicalc.pl CPI Inflation Calculator] and inputing $30,000 for 1913 (the lowest available year) returns well over $600,000 in 2007 dollars.] The cornerstone for the Cathedral was laid on 17 June 1898 and the church was formally dedicated on 26 October 1902.

Consolidation

As the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex grew through the early 20th century, other diocesan parishes were built in neighboring suburbs, decreasing Sacred Heart's attendance. However by the 1960s the neighboring Our Lady of Guadalupe parish had outgrown its facilities. The parish, located on Harwood Street, was established in 1914 and primarily served Mexican immigrants. Bishop Thomas Tschoepe of Sacred Heart invited Our Lady of Guadalupe to merge with Sacred Heart, and by 1975, the Guadalupe church on Harwood closed following the churches' consolidation. On 12 December 1977, Sacred Heart Cathedral was renamed Cathedral Santuario de Guadalupe — "the Cathedral Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe."

Expansion

The Cathedral recently underwent a major multi-phase renovation project. As part of the project, a US$20 million [http://www.cathedralguadalupe.org/architecture/tower.cfm bell tower] housing a 49-bell carillon was constructed. The bell tower was planned by the original architect, Nicholas J. Clayton, [ [http://www.cathedralguadalupe.org/ Catherdral Santuario de Guadalupe] - [http://www.cathedralguadalupe.org/architecture/overview.cfm Architecture overview] . Retrieved on 29 April 2007.] but was never built.

References

See also

*List of buildings and structures in Dallas, Texas

External links

* [http://www.cathedralguadalupe.org/ Parish website]
* [http://www.cathdal.org Diocese of Dallas website]