St. Mary's Cathedral

History & Significance

Cathedral · Est. Parish founded 1855; present church dedicated 1931; designated cathedral 1937

St. Mary's Parish in St. Cloud, Minnesota was founded in 1855 by Father Francis Xavier Pierz, with Benedictines of St. John's Abbey serving as early pastors. After fire destroyed the earlier Gothic church in 1920, the present Italianate building—designed by local architect Nairne W. Fisher and inspired by the sixth-century Basilica of Sant'Apollinare in Classe at Ravenna—was completed and dedicated in 1931. In 1937 it was designated the Cathedral of Saint Mary, seat of the Diocese of Saint Cloud, which serves Central Minnesota.

Italianate, modeled on the 6th-century Basilica of Sant'Apollinare in Classe (Ravenna), by architect Nairne W. Fisher

• •Seat (cathedral) of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saint Cloud, serving Central Minnesota (~150,000 Catholics)
• •Parish founded 1855 by Father Francis Xavier Pierz; first Mass celebrated May 21, 1855
• •Earlier church destroyed by fire on August 25, 1920; present building completed and dedicated 1931
• •Designated as the diocesan cathedral in 1937, replacing the former Holy Angels Cathedral
• •Diocese of Saint Cloud erected by Pope Leo XIII on September 22, 1889