Cathedral of Mary Our Queen

History & Significance

Cathedral · Est. Dedicated November 15, 1959 (ground broken October 10, 1954)

The Cathedral of Mary Our Queen is the principal cathedral of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore, dedicated on November 15, 1959. It was funded largely by a multi-million-dollar bequest from dry goods merchant Thomas J. O'Neill and designed by the Boston firm Maginnis, Walsh, and Kennedy. The name honors the feast of Mary's Queenship, instituted by Pope Pius XII in 1954. Archbishop Karol Wojtyla visited in 1976 and returned as Pope John Paul II in 1995.

Gothic Revival with Art Deco accents

• •Principal cathedral and seat of the Archbishop of Baltimore, the oldest Roman Catholic archdiocese in the United States
• •Funded by a bequest from merchant Thomas J. O'Neill; ground broken 1954, dedicated November 15, 1959
• •Designed by the Boston firm Maginnis, Walsh, and Kennedy
• •Replaced the Basilica of the Assumption (now co-cathedral) as the archdiocese's primary cathedral
• •Visited in 1976 by Archbishop Karol Wojtyla, who returned as Pope John Paul II in 1995