St. Patrick’s Cathedral (Archdiocese of New York)
St. Patrick’s Cathedral is in New York (United States) and is part of the Archdiocese of New York.
It is dedicated to Saint Patrick.
| St. Patrick’s Cathedral | |
| Dedication: | Saint Patrick |
| Venerated Saints: | |
| Diocese: | Archdiocese of New York |
| Deanery: | Manhattan |
| Address: | 5th Avenue, New York, NY 10022 |
| Coordinates: | 40.7587, -73.9755 |
| City: | New York, NY |
| Subdivision: | New York |
| Country: | United States |
| County: | New York County |
| Website: | https://saintpatrickscathedral.org |
| Founded: | 1858 |
| School: | No |
| Email: | info@saintpatrickscathedral.org |
History
St. Patrick’s Cathedral, the seat of the Archbishop of New York, was conceived in 1850 by Archbishop John Hughes to accommodate the growing Catholic population, particularly Irish immigrants fleeing the Potato Famine. Construction began with the laying of the cornerstone on August 15, 1858, on a then-rural Fifth Avenue site, designed by James Renwick Jr. in the Gothic Revival style. The Civil War halted progress in 1861, but work resumed in 1865 under Archbishop John McCloskey, who oversaw its completion. The cathedral was dedicated on May 25, 1879, with its spires added in 1888 and the Lady Chapel completed in 1906. It became an archdiocesan seat when New York was elevated to an archdiocese in 1850. Notable events include Pope Paul VI’s visit in 1965, the first papal visit to the U.S., and Pope Francis’s visit in 2015. Designated a National Historic Landmark in 1976, it remains a symbol of faith and resilience, serving over 5.5 million visitors annually.
Special features
- Largest Gothic Revival Catholic cathedral in North America, spanning a city block with 330-foot spires.
- Bronze doors, weighing 9,200 pounds each, adorned with sculptures of saints like St. Patrick and St. Joseph.
- A crypt beneath the high altar containing the remains of nine archbishops and Pierre Toussaint, a lay philanthropist.
- The Pietà sculpture by William Partridge, three times larger than Michelangelo’s original.
- A geothermal heating and cooling system, installed in 2017, enhancing sustainability.
Related parishes
St. Patrick’s Cathedral, as the archdiocesan mother church, collaborates with parishes like St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral in Nolita (the original cathedral until 1879) for historical continuity, and the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington, DC, for shared liturgical events like the Blue Mass, which originated at St. Patrick’s in 1934.