The first church was at Fifth and Montgomery Streets, was dedicated in 1834. Read about its dedication.
The Church above is the second St. Mary's, and stood on the north side of Eighth, between
Scott and Greenup. It's cornerstone was laid on October 3, 1853.
 The Catholic Telegraph, October 1, 1853 |
| Second Church's cornerstone |
A longer version of the 1853 cornerstone festivities.
Before the facade was added. c. 1900
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| St. Mary's Cathedral and Bishop's Residence, 1916 |
St. Mary's Cathedral, c. 1915 |
St. Mary's Cathedral, c. 1915 |
Interior of St. Mary's, circa pre-WWI |
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| c. WWI | 1914 | Interior | unknown year |
St. Mary's Cathedral and Bishop's House, Covington
from the back, 1904
St. Mary's is a “minor basilica.”
What's a minor basilica? Are there major basilicas? Learn here.
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| newer postcard images | |
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Interior, St. Mary's, Covington and info from back of card
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| Selected St. Mary's Gargoyles | |||
This image ran with the story of the dedication, below.
The cornerstone laid in 1895
The dedication of the Cathedral, in 1901.
Stephen Enzweiler writes on some history of St. Mary's with some great gargoyle and chimera pictures at this site. (A gargoyle is a carved grotesque figure on a spout which conveys water away from the gutters while a chimera is any fantastic creature with parts from different animals. ) Enzweiler has also published a detailed explanation (external) of one of the stained glass windows. The same site also offers some background on the Cathedral's stained glass, here. Enzweiler has also written on how a dollar donation from a child was the first money raised to build the cathedral. The story is at this site. His account of the very first St. Mary's, and how it came to be, is at this site, his writing on Covington's long-serving Bishop Maes is here, and his history of the cathedral's construction is at this site. A gift from Nicholas J. Walsh was a major contribution in getting the church built. |
Kentucky Farm Bureau did this video on the history of the church.
The application to put St. Mary's on the National Register of Historic
places, complete with photo's, history, and maps.
Interior, St. Mary's, Covington
St. Mary's Cathedral, Covington
(also, miniature studies in early 20th century image manipulation, colorization, and plagiarism)
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Sketch of St. Mary's |
St. Mary's | Organ at St. Marys The largest of three pipe organs in the church, it was built in 1982 by Aultz-Kersting Pipe Organ Co., and has 3,889 pipes, some of which go back to 1859 |
The Catholic Telegraph, September 14, 1905
The Duveneck Murals, begun and completed
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| Notre Dame, Paris, France | St. Denis is in the town of St. Denis, now in a northern suburb of Paris | |||
| St. Mary's is modeled on Paris' Notre Dame on the exterior. The interior is modeled after the inside of St. Denis. | ||||
Construction, c. 1910
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| Construction of the Façade, c. 1909 |
Stone Masons at work, c. 1909 |
Madison Avenue scene, c. 1960.
From a Facebook post by Jack Hall from the Alice Cusson Archive
| A brochure (pdf) with details on the architectural features of the building. | For a detailed view of the liturgical art inside St. Mary's, see Dr. Paul Tenkotte's piece, formerly at the site of Voyageur Media Group, Inc.'s site, here. (pdf) |
In 1910, the Catholic Telegraph ran a special (pdf) on the Diocese of Covington.
In 1926, the US Census Bureau counted church denominations
and their members. The Covington results are here.
Cathedral Lyceum
from a Pinterest posting by Michele Mettey Jones
| Across the street from St. Mary's, at 1113 Madison, was Dickman Brothers, who sold clerical attire, and other garments needed by the church. These are pages from their catalog. |
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Tailored Suits
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Altar Boys' Surplices
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Collaros
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More Collaros
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Albs
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Vestments |
Stoles |
Cassocks |
