The Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception () is a Catholic cathedral in Mobile, Alabama, United States. The cathedral is the seat of the archbishop of the Archdiocese of Mobile. It is named for Mary, mother of Jesus, under her title, Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception.

History

Early churches

Mobile's Cathedral Parish was established on July 20, 1703, by Jean-Baptiste de la Croix de Chevrières de Saint-Vallier, Bishop of Quebec. Bishop de Saint-Vallier named Father Roulleaux de La Vente, first pastor of the parish church, which was located at the French settlement of Mobile at the citadel of Fort Louis de la Louisiane. The parish is the first established on the Gulf Coast.

When the Mobile settlement was relocated to its present site in 1711, a new parish church was built and was known as Notre Dame de la Mobile (Our Lady of Mobile). In 1781, during the Spanish occupation of Mobile, the parish took its current name, Immaculate Conception.

Pope Pius VIII erected the Diocese of Mobile in 1829 and appointed Bishop Michael Portier as its first bishop. Portier's first “cathedral” was a small wooden structure located in the Old Spanish Burying Ground, site of the present cathedral. Portier soon set out to construct a "real" cathedral.

Construction and improvements

In 1833, Portier hired Claude Beroujon, a former seminarian turned architect to create a Roman basilica design for the new Immaculate Conception Cathedral. Portier laid the cornerstone of the cathedral in 1835. However, the financial crisis in the United States known as the Panic of 1837 forced a long delay in the cathedral construction. Portier finally consecrated Immaculate Conceptions in 1850. However, due to lack of funds, he was unable to construct the portico and towers.

On May 25, 1865, at the end of the American Civil War, 30 tons of gunpowder ignited inside an ammunition depot operated by the Union Army in Mobile. The blast killed 300 people and destroyed much of the town. The explosion also shattered the windows and sashes on the north side of the empty cathedral.

Bishop John Quinlan was finally able in the 1870s to add a classical portico, with eight massive doric columns, to the outside of the cathedral. The two towers were completed in 1884 by Bishop Jeremiah O'Sullivan.

thumb|View from the nave to the sanctuary in 2009|285x285px

In 1946, a US Navy plane hit the South Tower of the cathedral before it crashed nearby, killing the pilot.

The building, laid out in an east–west axis, is long and wide. The ceiling is at its highest point, and its twin towers rise to .

Stained glass windows

thumb|150px|Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception (2010)

The stained glass windows in Immaculate Conception Cathedral were made in Munich, Germany by Franz Mayer & Co., and installed beginning in 1890. The last window was installed in 1910. Some of them were remade by Franz Mayer after the 1954 fire.

Main windows

The twelve main windows are approximately wide and tall. Each window depicts an event involving Mary in the life of her son, Jesus. The six south wall windows show the following:

  • Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception
  • Presentation of Mary at the Temple
  • Annunciation
  • Visitation
  • Nativity of Jesus
  • Holy Family

The six north wall windows show the following:

  • Finding of the Child Jesus at the Temple
  • Marriage Feast of Cana
  • Crucifixion of Jesus
  • Pentecost
  • Assumption of Mary into Heaven
  • Coronation of Mary, Queen of Heaven

Portico windows

Two large stained glass windows flank the portico, one under each of the two towers.

  • The Baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan by John the Baptist is depicted in the window in the Reconciliation Room, under the north tower.
  • The window under the south tower, in the stairway to the choir loft, depicts St. Cecilia, the patron saint of musicians.

Foyer door windows

The cathedral has eight doors in the foyer, behind the main doors at the front entrance of the cathedral. These doors have small stained glass windows with the following depiction:

  • Augustine of Hippo
  • Our Lady of Mount Carmel
  • Presentation of Mary at the Temple
  • Louis IX, King of France
  • St. Patrick
  • Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception
  • St. Agnes of Rome
  • Virgin & Martyr
  • Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

Above the four middle doors is the Holy Spirit window.

This gallery contains photographs of Immaculate Conception Cathedral that were taken in 1936 for the Historic American Buildings Survey.

<gallery class="center" widths="150px" heights="150px">

Image:Cathedral of Immaculate Conception Mobile 2.jpg|East elevation (front), portico and towers

Image:Cathedral of Immaculate Conception Mobile 3.jpg|South side and tower, looking slightly northeast

Image:Cathedral of Immaculate Conception Mobile 1.jpg|West end of the nave from the organ balcony, showing the sanctuary and apse

Image:Cathedral of Immaculate Conception Mobile 5.jpg|East end of the nave, showing the organ, choir balcony and entrance

Image:Cathedral of Immaculate Conception Mobile 6.jpg|Section of foundation wall under the line of columns above the nave

Image:Cathedral of Immaculate Conception Mobile 7.jpg|Interior column caps and barrel vault ceiling over the south aisle

Image:Cathedral of Immaculate Conception Mobile 8.jpg|Cast-iron gates and fence on the east front

Image:Cathedral of Immaculate Conception Mobile 9.jpg|Detail of portico ceiling and columns, north end of portico

</gallery>

See also

  • List of Catholic cathedrals in the United States
  • List of cathedrals in the United States

References

  • Official Cathedral Site
  • Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mobile Official Site