Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Albany
Encyclopedia
The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception is a Roman Catholic cathedral
on Eagle Street in Albany, New York
. It is adjacent to the Empire State Plaza
.
The cathedral, located on Eagle Street at Madison Avenue across from Bleecker Park
in Albany, was completed in 1852 and consecrated by the Most Reverend John Hughes
, Archbishop of New York. The first bishop, John McCloskey, was coadjutor bishop of New York with succession rights. This is why he left upon Archbishop Hughes' death in 1865. The Cathedral has a stone
exterior and appears to have a stone interior but does not — the inside is actually plaster
and lath
but was painted to look like stone. This was really a way to save time, as McCloskey wanted to get the Cathedral finished to prove that the Catholic Church in America was permanent. Originally, there was a flat wall at the back of the Cathedral, where the Lady window was. This window, which depicts scenes in the life of the Virgin Mary, was later moved to the north transept
when the semicircular sanctuary was added.
The crypt
underneath the cathedral has reportedly never been visited by the current bishop, Howard Hubbard, but it contains six of his predecessors. There is a door in the ceiling of the crypt so that the coffins may be lowered directly into it after the Solemn Requiem of the Bishop. This door, however, was not quite big enough for the ornate, modern coffin
that contained Bishop Scully. As a result, they wound up having to take him out of the coffin, carry him down the stairs, take the coffin apart to feed it through the door, and then reassemble it and put him back in. The crypt cannot be detected from above because some of the floor tiles have to be removed to get coffins into it.
The Cathedral underwent a $30M restoration project, in which both the exterior and interior were renovated. It started in 2000 and was expected to be finished, if fund-raising efforts kept up, by 2009. The Cathedral hosted its first masses since the renovations began on May 29, 2010, with most of the work completed.
According to the diocese's web site, masses usually held in the Cathedral on Sunday and Holy Days were held at St. James Church.
Tours are offered of the Cathedral. [1]
It was added to the National Register of Historical Places in 1976.
An extensive history of the Cathedral was written in 1927 by Christine Sevier, and published by The Argus Company, Albany, NY. It includes the history of the first 75 years of the Cathedral's existence, as well as lists of the "priests who as boys served the Cathedral altar", the "assistant priests at the Cathedral", "some members of the Cathedral Parish who became sisters", and a list of parishioners who served in the First World War.
Cathedral
A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...
on Eagle Street in Albany, New York
Albany, New York
Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...
. It is adjacent to the Empire State Plaza
Empire State Plaza
The Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller Empire State Plaza is a complex of several state government buildings in downtown Albany, New York....
.
The cathedral, located on Eagle Street at Madison Avenue across from Bleecker Park
Bleecker Park
Bleecker Park is a small urban park in Albany, New York. The park is triangle-shaped, bounded by Madison Place to the south, Madison Avenue to the north, and Eagle Street to the west...
in Albany, was completed in 1852 and consecrated by the Most Reverend John Hughes
John Hughes (archbishop)
John Joseph Hughes , was an Irish-born clergyman of the Roman Catholic Church. He was the fourth Bishop and first Archbishop of the Archdiocese of New York, serving between 1842 and his death in 1864....
, Archbishop of New York. The first bishop, John McCloskey, was coadjutor bishop of New York with succession rights. This is why he left upon Archbishop Hughes' death in 1865. The Cathedral has a stone
Rock (geology)
In geology, rock or stone is a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids.The Earth's outer solid layer, the lithosphere, is made of rock. In general rocks are of three types, namely, igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic...
exterior and appears to have a stone interior but does not — the inside is actually plaster
Plaster
Plaster is a building material used for coating walls and ceilings. Plaster starts as a dry powder similar to mortar or cement and like those materials it is mixed with water to form a paste which liberates heat and then hardens. Unlike mortar and cement, plaster remains quite soft after setting,...
and lath
Lath
A lath is a thin, narrow strip of some straight-grained wood or other material, including metal or gypsum. A lattice, or lattice-work, is a criss-crossed or interlaced arrangement of laths, or the pattern made by such an arrangement...
but was painted to look like stone. This was really a way to save time, as McCloskey wanted to get the Cathedral finished to prove that the Catholic Church in America was permanent. Originally, there was a flat wall at the back of the Cathedral, where the Lady window was. This window, which depicts scenes in the life of the Virgin Mary, was later moved to the north transept
Transept
For the periodical go to The Transept.A transept is a transverse section, of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In Christian churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform building in Romanesque and Gothic Christian church architecture...
when the semicircular sanctuary was added.
The crypt
Crypt
In architecture, a crypt is a stone chamber or vault beneath the floor of a burial vault possibly containing sarcophagi, coffins or relics....
underneath the cathedral has reportedly never been visited by the current bishop, Howard Hubbard, but it contains six of his predecessors. There is a door in the ceiling of the crypt so that the coffins may be lowered directly into it after the Solemn Requiem of the Bishop. This door, however, was not quite big enough for the ornate, modern coffin
Coffin
A coffin is a funerary box used in the display and containment of dead people – either for burial or cremation.Contemporary North American English makes a distinction between "coffin", which is generally understood to denote a funerary box having six sides in plan view, and "casket", which...
that contained Bishop Scully. As a result, they wound up having to take him out of the coffin, carry him down the stairs, take the coffin apart to feed it through the door, and then reassemble it and put him back in. The crypt cannot be detected from above because some of the floor tiles have to be removed to get coffins into it.
The Cathedral underwent a $30M restoration project, in which both the exterior and interior were renovated. It started in 2000 and was expected to be finished, if fund-raising efforts kept up, by 2009. The Cathedral hosted its first masses since the renovations began on May 29, 2010, with most of the work completed.
According to the diocese's web site, masses usually held in the Cathedral on Sunday and Holy Days were held at St. James Church.
Tours are offered of the Cathedral. [1]
It was added to the National Register of Historical Places in 1976.
An extensive history of the Cathedral was written in 1927 by Christine Sevier, and published by The Argus Company, Albany, NY. It includes the history of the first 75 years of the Cathedral's existence, as well as lists of the "priests who as boys served the Cathedral altar", the "assistant priests at the Cathedral", "some members of the Cathedral Parish who became sisters", and a list of parishioners who served in the First World War.