Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul (Providence, Rhode Island)

Sts. Peter and Paul Church

During the first decades of the 19th century, the few Catholics in Rhode Island were under the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Boston. The diocese assigned John Corry to serve as a missionary priest in Providence. He purchased a property to build the first Catholic church in the city. The Church of Saints Peter and Paul was dedicated on November 4, 1938.^[4]As Rhode Island began to industrialized, more Catholic workers started moving into the area.^[4]

In 1844, Pope Gregory XVI erected the Diocese of Hartford, including the Catholics in Connecticut and Rhode Island. ^[5] Its first bishop, William Tyler, elected to reside in Providence, as it had a much larger Catholic population than Hartford.

First Sts. Peter and Paul Cathedral

Tyler consecrated Sts. Peter and Paul Church as Sts. Peter and Paul Cathedral in 1847.^[6][7]As the number of Catholics in Providence continued to grow, the first Sts. Peter and Paul Cathedral could not accommodate them.^[4]By 1872, the Catholic population in the diocese had grown to 200,000. Bishop Francis Patrick McFarland expressed interest in building a larger cathedral, but was unable to gain support within the diocese.

Pope Pius IX in 1872 established the Diocese of Providence, encompassing Rhode Island and parts of Massachusetts. Thomas Francis Hendricken became the first bishop of Providence.^[8]

Hendricken decided to build a new cathedral, but was forced to retire the diocesan debt of $16,000. After a few months, he began planning the project. In 1873, Hendricken selected church architect Patrick Keely to draw up the plans for the new cathedral. Hendricken signed a contract of $18,950 to construct the foundation of a temporary church. The diocese demolished the existing rectory and built a new one at a different location.^[4]

The cornerstone for the new cathedral was laid in 1878. As construction slowly continued, Hendricken set aside $10,000 each year toward the building fund. He also mounted a series of fundraising campaigns to keep construction going as he refused to borrow money to finance it.^[4]

By 1882, the contractors had finished the cathedral roof and began work on the interior. Hendricken died in 1886; his funeral mass was the first to be celebrated in the unfinished cathedral. At the time of his death, construction costs for the cathedral totaled $300,000.^[4]

Second Sts. Peter and Paul Cathedral

On June 30, 1889, more than a decade after construction began, the second Sts. Peter and Paul Cathedral was consecrated by Bishop Matthew Harkins.^[9] In 1921, the diocese painted walls in the cathedral.^[4]

Bishop Russell J. McVinney in 1968 initiated the first major renovation of the cathedral, a three-year project. The sandstone facing on the exterior was repaired, the sanctuary lengthened and the altar repositioned. The diocese also installed new pews and a new pipe organ.^[10][11]

In 2006, the basement of the cathedral, which holds the church hall, was renovated to accommodate parish gatherings and diocesan functions. The basement crypt was dismantled and a new stone tomb was laid in the upper church as a final resting place for Hendricken. Church leaders believed that he deserved a more prominent place in the building, as the cathedral is considered his legacy. The other bishops buried in the crypt were moved to a cemetery in nearby Cranston.

In 2013, the diocese constructed a cross aisle in the cathedral and replaced the flooring and kneelers. Over $200,000 was spent reglazing the rose windows and repairing the tower clock.^[11]

The diocese, in June 2021, completed a $4.5 million replacement of the cathedral roof. During that period, the contractors discovered serious structural problems with the two towers. The diocese was forced to spend an additional $9.5 million to replace 800 stones on the towers, along with weakened timbers and mortar. ^[11]

Notable masses

• June 16, 1886 – Bishop Hendricken^[12]
• September 8, 1947 – Knut Ansgar Nelson, a Benedictine monk from Portsmouth Priory who had been named the coadjutor vicar apostolic of Sweden. He was consecrated by Amleto Giovanni Cicognani, apostolic delegate to the United States.^[13]
• September 17, 2001 – David Angell and his wife Lynn Edwards Angell. They were passengers on the American Airlines Flight 11 that was flown by terrorists into the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City on September 11, 2001. The mass was celebrated by David's older brother, Bishop Kenneth Angell.
• February 8, 2016 – former Providence mayor Buddy Cianci, presided over by Bishop Thomas Joseph Tobin.^[14]
• August 29, 2025 – former Judge Frank Caprio, presided over by Bishop Richard Henning.^[15]

Sanctuary

The tabernacle was cast in bronze by X. Corberro and Sons of Barcelona, Spain. The small finial ornament atop the tabernacle took 58 hours to complete. The main altar is built of Verde Issoire, a green marble quarried in the French Alps. The circular window over the altar depicts 13 scenes of the passion and death of Christ.

Nave

The floors in the nave are composed of Travertine marble. Green marble serves as decorative wainscoting along the walls and comprises the interior columns along the nave. The nave and transepts are capped by a ceiling of Gothic vaulting and ribs of carved wood with the areas between the ribs painted in various scenes. A large granite sarcophagus rests in the west transept, containing the remains of Bishop Hendricken.^[16]The pews are constructed of quartered Appalachian oakwood.

Stained glass windows

The stained glass windows feature scenes from both the New and Old Testaments and are fashioned from antique Munich Glass as are the west rose window, east rose window and great circular window. The windows were created in the studios of the Tyrolese Art Glass Company of Innsbruck, Austria.