Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, Roman Catholic cathedral in downtown Sacramento, United States
The Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament is a modified basilica-form church about 200 feet long and 100 feet wide, seating 1,400 people, with a central bell tower rising 215 feet. Its exterior is Italian Renaissance and its interior Victorian; the dome over the crossing stands 110 feet high, and a 13-foot crucifix hangs above the altar beneath a 14-foot crown.
Construction began in 1887 under Sacramento's first bishop, Patrick Manogue, who had studied in Paris and modeled the cathedral on the Church of the Holy Trinity there. The building was closed from August 2003 to November 2005 for a $34 million restoration that reopened the dome, walled off in the 1930s for acoustic reasons, and added a Eucharistic chapel and two side chapels. Former California governor Pat Brown's funeral Mass was held here in 1996.
The cathedral is the mother church of the Diocese of Sacramento, which serves about 1,000,000 Catholics across 102 churches in a 42,000-square-mile region. Its size has led to final funeral Masses for California governors being held here, most recently Pat Brown's in 1996. The Eucharistic chapel's screen bears the words of the hymn Pange Lingua Gloriosi in gold lettering.
The building sits at the corner of 11th and K Street and is easy to reach from downtown Sacramento. Daily mass services take place throughout the week, and the space welcomes visitors for private prayer and quiet contemplation during standard visiting hours.
The cathedral was modeled on L'Eglise de la Sainte-Trinité in Paris, which Patrick Manogue admired while studying there in 1860. Its central bell tower rises 215 feet, and the building seats 1,400 people. Former California governor Pat Brown's funeral Mass was held here in 1996.
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