Cathedral of St. Raphael

History & Significance

Cathedral · Est. Cathedral structure dedicated July 7, 1861 (parish founded 1833)

St. Raphael's Cathedral traces to the 1833 parish founded as the oldest Christian congregation in Iowa; Fr. Samuel Mazzuchelli dedicated it to the archangel Raphael in 1835. Designed by local architect John Mullany in Gothic Revival style, the present church was completed and dedicated by Bishop Clement Smyth on July 7, 1861. It is the mother church and cathedral of the Archdiocese of Dubuque, elevated to an archdiocese in 1893.

Gothic Revival, patterned after Magdalen College, Oxford

• •Mother church and cathedral of the Archdiocese of Dubuque
• •Parish founded 1833 — the oldest Christian congregation in Iowa
• •Cathedral dedicated July 7, 1861 by Bishop Clement Smyth
• •Designed by local architect John Mullany in Gothic Revival style
• •Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985 (Cathedral Historic District)