Church Architecture

Cathedral of the Assumption (Louisville, Kentucky)
Architecture

The Cathedral of the Assumption is a Catholic cathedral in Louisville, Kentucky, and the mother church of the Archdiocese of Louisville. In 1811, a small group of Catholics in Louisville formed Saint Louis Church. By 1830, a larger Saint Louis Church was built. In 1841 Saint Louis Church became Saint Louis Cathedral. In 1849 the community decided a new building was necessary.In 1852, a new cathedral was dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title of the Cathedral of the Assumption.

Cathedral of the Holy Cross (Boston)
Artist: Patrick Keely
1867 - 75 Architecture

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The Cathedral of the Holy Cross is the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston and is one of the largest Roman Catholic church in New England. The cathedral functions both as a cathedral and as a parish.

Plans for building a new church were disrupted by the outbreak of the United States Civil War. Ground was broken on April 29, 1866, and the completed structure was dedicated on December 8, 1875, by then Boston's first archbishop.

The cathedral was named after the relic of holy cross that is owned by the church. This relic, supposedly a small fragment of the cross from Jesus' crucifixion was on display in the cathedral until 2018 when a janitor discovered that it had been stolen. The relic was eventually returned to the cathedral, and since its theft the relic has only been on display during special dates throughout the liturgical year.

Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception
1930-36 Architecture

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The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception is in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. It is is the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Ouagadougou. The Cathedral was built in the 1930s, and is one of the largest catholic cathedrals in western Africa. The Immaculate Conception is the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso.

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When we think of Christian architecture, we may picture towering cathedrals with intricate stained-glass windows, but the roots of this style are much more humble. The earliest Christian structures were not grand, but rather simple house churches. As Christianity grew, its places of worship grew in size and intricacy.

The transition from early Christian to medieval architecture paralelled societal and religious changes. The Romanesque style, characterized by its rounded arches and massive walls, was followed by the Gothic style with its pointed archs, ribbed vaults, and flying buttresses.

Christian architecture has created some of the world’s most iconic structures. These buildings all share a common thread: they are physical manifestations of the Christian faith.

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