The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1915-04-03
THE CATHEDRAL OF ST. PAUL

said, we will, in united outflow of
generosity, build in the Diocese of ST..
Paul one great temple, that, in express
sive manner, will symbolic, as no
isolated effort can do, our Christian
faith and Christian love, and will
preach to the world of men around us
the grandeur of that faith, the sublime
holiness of that love. This is the his
tory of the Cathedral of st. Paul, the
mother church of the Diocese of ST..
Paul. the common monument of the
whole people to God, to Christ, to the
Catholic Faith.
The Cathedral, sons and daughters
of the Diocese of St. Paul, is our
supreme act of faith, our solemn, neV-
er-silent Credo.
Credo-I believe. 81 believe in God,
the Father Almighty-and in Jesus
Christ, His only Son, our Lord be-
lieve-in the Holy Catholic Church. .
Il believe in God-and in Jesus
Christ" God and His Christ are be-
ing forgotten: fain would men throw
off their yoke and break their bonds
asunder. Well, whatever the spread
of impiety and unbelief, legions there
are, right here in st. Paul, right here
in Minnesota, who refuse to bend the
knee to BaaI Their witness, the
Cathedral of ST. Paul, the Cross it ex-
ats high into the air, that all may
see and remember whence salvation
ic uiy RI hn HrrnTI1 Of
81 believe-in the Holy Catholic
Church. 1t is the faith of the CEN
turtles; it is our faith: it will be the
faith of the centuries yet unborn. Fain
would we symbolic this faith in
monument that the world of men
around us must see and understand
Hence the Cathedral of st. Paul, firm
in deep-seated foundations as is the
Church of Christ itself, strong and de-
fiant of storm in it's granite walls, as
the Church itself is ever proven to be,
whatever the cruel winds battling
against it adown the centuries.
Cathedral, thou art the symbol of
our faith. Therefore, we have built
thee grand and beautiful, to be not
altogether unworthy of the mission
we entrust to thee. TO God, to Christ,
to our Catholic faith the Cathedral
was to be built. 1t is built: This is
the day which the Lord hath made:
let US hs ss9qs&1p and Gci ioice ther sia.''.t
On the second day of July, 1851
the first Bishop of st. Paul stood in
the sanctuary of the first Cathedral
of st. Paul, hut built of the rude
timbers of the neighboring forests
so small that fewer than a hundred
people crowded to repletion it's audi
ence-room, so large as to give cover
to all the Catholics of the nascent city.
What,a change from July End, 1851, to
March 28th, 1915! Later two other
Cathedrals successfully took the place
of the log built chapel: what change
from the dedication-day of either to
the dedication-day Of the great edifice
that is in 1915 the Cathedral of st.
Paul?
How much the Cathedral of today
does tell of wonders done in the City
of st. Paul, in the State of Minnesota,
in the Diocese of st. Paul! o God,
from whose throne all good things do
descend, we praise Thee, we thank
Thee.
Be with us today, in gladness and
exultation, pioneers of the Diocese of
st. Paul, to see the fruitage of your
faith and zeal, to see how high has
risen the spiritual edifice whose foun,
| dation-stones you laid in patient hope
! fulness. Be with us, pioneer Bishops
and priests, Cretin, Grace, Galtier
RavouX:-be with us, pioneer Cath
| Ollie men and women, whose faith
built our early Cathedrals, and opened
amid the years, the pathways leading
| to the Cathedral of 1915, to the Dio
cese of 1915.
May the new Cathedral, while sur
passing it's predecessors in materia
splendor, be equal to them in richness
of spiritual life, in service to God anC
/ to souls!