St. Ambrose Cathedral (Des Moines, Iowa)

St. Ambrose Churches

The predecessors to St. Ambrose Cathedral were the three St. Ambrose Churches in Des Moines. The first mass in present-day Des Moines was celebrated in a log hut in 1851 at Fort Des Moines by Alexander Hattenberger, a priest from Ottumwa, Iowa.^[4] At the time, Des Moines was part of the Diocese of Dubuque, which covered the entire state of Iowa. Over the next few years, priests from Dubuque would visit Des Moines to celebrate mass or perform sacraments for Catholics.^[5]

In 1856, a Father De Cailly purchased a land parcel in Des Moines for its first Catholic church. George Plathe, the first resident priest assigned to Des Moines, constructed the first St. Ambrose Church.^[5] The new church was only 40 by 24 feet (12.2 by 7.3 m). At that time, St. Ambrose was the only parish in southwest Iowa.

John F. Brazill was appointed pastor of St. Ambrose in 1861; he built the St. Ambrose grade school in 1863. During this period, Bishop Clement Smyth of Dubuque named Brazill the vicar general of the diocese. Over the next two decades, he used his connections with the state government to amass large real estate holdings in Des Moines, both for himself and the diocese.^[2] In 1865, a contingent of the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary moved to Des Moines to teach at St. Ambrose.^[6]

In 1865, Brazill completed construction of the second St. Ambrose Church, a larger stone building. The Gothic Revival structure featured two towers that flanked the main facade. In 1881, Pope Leo XIII erected the Diocese of Davenport, which included Des Moines.^[7]

The growth of St. Ambrose Parish in the 1880s prompted its pastor, Michael Flavin, to start planning a new church. He decided to build the church on a property acquired by Brazill at Sixth and High Streets in Des Moines.^[2] Flavin hired the architect James J. Egan of Chicago to design the building. He was already working on Sacred Heart Cathedral in Davenport^[8]

Flavin started construction of the third St. Ambrose church in 1890 and it was completed the following year. It was built for about $120,000.^[2] Bishop Henry Cosgrove of Davenport dedicated St. Ambrose on October 11, 1891. While visiting the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Flavin saw a model for a high altar designed by Tiffany Studios in New York City. He ordered a marble copy of it for St. Ambrose from Italy.

In 1905, the Diocese of Davenport erected St. John's Parish, in Des Moines from the northern portion of St. Ambrose Parish.^[9] The next year St. Anthony's Parish was established on the south side of Des Moines. Flavin opposed its establishment because he did not want to lose the parish territory.^[10]

St. Ambrose Cathedral

In 1911, Pope Pius X erected the Diocese of Des Moines and designated St. Ambrose Church as St. Ambrose Cathedral.^[11]St. Augustin's Parish, on the west side of Des Moines, was founded from St. Ambrose in 1920.^[12]

Bishop Thomas Drumm and Francis O'Connell, rector of the cathedral, executed the first renovation of the building during the 1920s. They built a rectory next to the church in 1927.^[1] A new bishop's throne of inlaid marble, pulpit, and communion rail were created for the church. The Chapel of Our Lady in the rear of the cathedral was also added at this time. A new pipe organ was added in 1929.

A second renovation of St. Ambrose occurred in the 1940s with the installation of new stained glass windows and the Stations of the Cross. A new 18-foot (5.5 m) reredos was created for the high altar's original mensa by Conrad Schmitt Studios of Milwaukee.

Bishop Maurice Dingman started another large-scale renovation of the cathedral in the 1970s. The building needed repairs and he wanted to enact liturgical changes to the building that were dictated by the Second Vatican Council of the early 1960s. The John Lorenz and James Laurenzo were co-pastors at the time. Dingman invited the entire diocese to participated in the planning process. He hire Maur Burbach of St. Pius X Monastery in Pevely, Missouri as a liturgical consultant and Rambusch Decorating Company of New York City as designers. The renovation was completed in 1978.

On January 12, 1972, St. Ambrose Cathedral host the episcopal consecration of Walter Righter as the bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Iowa.^[13]

In 1996, the diocese repainted and redecorated the cathedral, finishing in 199. The diocese hired Don A. Wendt of Ecclesiastical Studios & Sons of Greenwood, Missouri to do the work.^[14] The diocese in 2015 installed LED lighting on the exterior of the belltower.^[15]