Cathedral of Our Lady of Lourdes, Catholic cathedral in Spokane, United States
The Cathedral of Our Lady of Lourdes is a Catholic cathedral in Spokane, Washington, designed in Italian Romanesque Revival style. Its exterior is faced with red brick accented with granite, and the facade is framed by two square towers reaching 164 ft (50 m). The stained glass windows were made in Bavaria, Germany.
The parish began in August 1881, when Jesuit Joseph Cataldo celebrated Spokane's first Mass in a converted carpenter's shop he named St. Joseph. A brick church followed five years later, and the cornerstone of the present building was laid in 1903. On 17 December 1913, Pius X created the Diocese of Spokane and made Our Lady of Lourdes its cathedral.
The stained glass windows inside were made in Bavaria and show saints and religious scenes in deep, rich colors. On a sunny day, the light passing through them fills the nave with color in a way that immediately catches the eye.
The cathedral is generally open to visitors outside of private religious services, so checking mass times before arriving helps you plan a quieter visit. The building is easy to reach on foot from the center of Spokane, and there is street parking nearby.
The bishop's cathedra combines parts of Bishop Augustine Francis Schinner's original 1913 throne, the marble cathedra from the 1930s, and a new addition made in 2018. The pipe organ in the loft was built by the W. W. Kimball Company of Chicago.
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