Our Lady of the Assumption - Louisville Cathedral

Origin and history

The Cathedral of the Assumption of Louisville is the mother church of the Archdiocese of Louisville and one of the oldest Catholic temples in the United States in continuous use. The land on which it rises was consecrated in 1830. On 13 February 1841, Pope Gregory XVI abolished the diocese of Bardstown and erected the diocese of Louisville instead, moving the episcopal seat here.

Bishop Benedict Joseph Flaget blessed the first stone of the present cathedral on August 15, 1849 - the date of the feast of the Assumption of Mary, under whose sponsorship it was dedicated from that moment. Flaget died in February 1850 without seeing the building completed; it was his successor, Bishop Martin John Spalding, who consecrated the temple on October 3, 1852.

In 1855, during the anti-immigrant riots of the "Bloody Monday," a nativist mob threatened to burn the cathedral, convinced it was hiding weapons. Mayor John Barbee inspected the building and ruled out the charge, saving the temple.

The cathedral and its images

The building, designed in a neo-Gothic style by architects William Keeley and Isaiah Rogers, is the fourth oldest public building in Louisville. His chapitel, rebuilt in 1858 by Henry Whitestone, reached 287 feet (87 m) high, being for a time the highest pinnacle in North America. Inside, a blue vault with over 8,000 leaves of 24-carat gold bread that form stars creates a golden firmament on the faithful.

The Coronation window, executed by the Blum Art Company of Louisville in 1883, represents the coronation of the Virgin Mary as Queen of Heaven; it is considered one of the oldest and largest specimens of hand-painted glass in the United States. The oil paintings that decorate the sanctuary were sent from Rome by Pope Gregory XVI himself in the mid-19th century.

Link to the Rosary

The dedication of the cathedral to the Assumption of Mary and the solemnity with which it is celebrated on August 15 have kept alive since 1852 a continuous Marian devotion in the heart of Kentucky. The tradition of praying the Rosary accompanies the liturgical cycle of the cathedral, especially in the months of May and October. The cathedral is today the seat of Archbishop Shelton J. Fabre and houses about 3,000 parishioners.