St. Xavier Church & Cathedral

The **St. Xavier Church And Cathedral** is a large church located in the Stonewall neighborhood of St. Xavier. Constructed in 1872 to serve as the new seat of the Diocese of St. Xavier, and to replace the aging St. Andrew's Chapel, it is renowned nation wide for it's architecture and importance in local history.

## History

The church was constructed in 1872 and designed by famed Franciscan church architect Marshall Von Luther. Made out of cobblestone, it was to be the third largest church by size in St. Xavier after the National Shrine & Cathedral of Francisca and the Church of Our Lady of Sorrows. It took 6 years for the church to be built. It served as the seat of the Catholic Diocese of St. Xavier until 1945, when it was moved to the Church of Our lady of Sorrows. However, St. Xavier Church & Cathedral would remain popular in the city, and would become the center point of the Stonewall Neighborhood, which was at this point bustling with life as a center of art and culture.

### The Stonewall Movement

The Gay Rights Movement in Francisca would begin in the 1960s, as men and women across the nation would begin to more freely display their true sexuality. However, crackdowns and persecution throughout the 1980s would lead to widespread persecution and discrimination against those known to be homosexuals, leading to a period known as the "Rainbow Terror." The Stonewall neighborhood in which the church was located had become a center of LGBTQ+ culture during the prior decades, and remained a safe haven for those within the community even at the Rainbow Terror's peak. Several gay clubs and bars would be present, earning it a reputation as the hub of the St. Xavier LGBTQ scene. However, those within the community often clashed with the largely conservative and homophobic congregation of the church who typically came from adjacent neighborhoods. This would come to a head in June 1990s, when an unarmed gay man was shot outside of St. Xaver Church & Cathedral by one of the church's members after he was seen kissing another man. This would lead to widespread protests and riots, and the start of the "Stonewall Movement," another, more aggressive wave of gay rights demonstrations across Francisca. In the nights immediatly after the shooting, large groups of people would gather outside of the church, setting fire to cars and garbage. Some rioters would throw rocks at the church windows, shattering original stained-glass pieces - some of which were transplanted from the St. Andrew Chapel. The riots would soon end, but the Stonewall neighborhood would remain a center of gay rights activism.

In the late 90s and early 2000s, the church would become much more friendly those in the LGBTQ community. In 2005, it was ranked as the "Most LGBTQ Friendly" church in Francisca. Nearly 50% of the church's regular congregation identified as LGBTQ+ in a 2020 survey.

### 2007 Storm

In 2007, the roof of the church would collapse after an intense coastal storm tore through St. Xaver. The roof collapse would severely damaged the interior of the building, and would lead to the destruction of several original ceiling murals, and the ruining of the Chandelier of Mary, a large, glass chandelier that had been commissioned by the queen of Francisca in 1692, and housed in various cathedrals around the country before finding it's home at St. Xavier Church & Cathedral in 1987. Repairs on the building would begin shortly thereafter, but complications and the discovery of other structural defects would lead to the project taking until 2009 to be finished.

In 2018, the church was designated a National Historical Landmark, thanks in large part to it's role in the LGBT Rights Movement. It was made part of the Stonewall Memorial Historic District a year later in 2019, including the sites most significant to the movement.