Cathedral of St. John Berchmans, Tudor Revival cathedral in Shreveport, United States.
The Cathedral of St. John Berchmans is a mixed Tudor-Gothic church in Shreveport, Louisiana. Exposed wooden beams inside are typical of the Tudor style, while the pointed arches of the windows and doorways show Gothic influence. Three of the large interior windows were made by stained-glass artist Emil Frei Jr. and depict the life of Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus.
Jesuit priests arrived in Shreveport in 1902 to open a parish and a boys' school, with Fr. John F. O'Connor, S.J., as first rector. A larger church became necessary by 1924; its cornerstone was laid on 31 July 1927 and construction finished in June 1928. The church was consecrated on 16 January 1929. It became co-cathedral of Alexandria–Shreveport in 1977, and cathedral of the new Diocese of Shreveport on 23 June 1986.
The cathedral is one of only eight parish churches in the world dedicated to Saint John Berchmans, a Jesuit who died in 1621 and was canonized in 1888. Its stained-glass windows by Emil Frei Jr. depict the life of Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus.
The cathedral stands at the corner of Jordan and Texas streets in downtown Shreveport, near the former site of the 1902 parish church, which was excavated in 2017 and marked by the state of Louisiana. Enter through the vestibule added in the 1992–1994 renovation; the free-standing chapel there seats 100 people.
The heart relic arrived in December 2016, timed to the 150th anniversary of the miracle of Mary Wilson, the healing that opened the way to John Berchmans' canonization in 1888. It rests in a reliquary near the main altar.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 94,130 contributors worldwide.