Saint Stephen Cathedral

History & Significance

Cathedral · Est. Present church built 1924-1926; became a cathedral in 1937

St. Stephen Cathedral in Owensboro, Kentucky, descends from a parish first organized in 1839 for Irish and German immigrants in Daviess County. The present church on Locust Street was built between 1924 and 1926. When Pope Pius XII established the Diocese of Owensboro on December 9, 1937, St. Stephen was chosen as its cathedral, and the first bishop, Francis Ridgley Cotton, was consecrated there on February 24, 1938. It remains the seat of the Diocese of Owensboro.

Italianate style

• •Seat (cathedral) of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Owensboro, Kentucky
• •Parish roots date to 1839, serving Irish and German Catholic immigrants in Daviess County
• •Present church was built on Locust Street between 1924 and 1926
• •Became the diocesan cathedral when Pope Pius XII established the Diocese of Owensboro on December 9, 1937
• •First Bishop of Owensboro, Francis Ridgley Cotton, was consecrated there on February 24, 1938