Church Architecture

St. Mary Cathedral Basilica (Galveston, Texas)
Architect: Theodore Eugene Giraud, Nicholas J. Clayton
1842-48 Architecture

See Details

St. Mary Cathedral Basilica is a Catholic church situated in Galveston, Texas. It is the primary cathedral of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston and the mother church of Catholics in Texas, as well as a minor basilica. It started as a small wooden-framed building in Galvestan in 1842 and was dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Because St. Mary Cathedral was the first Catholic cathedral in the state of Texas, and the original Diocese of Galveston encompassed the entire state, it has the distinction of being the mother church of all the Catholic dioceses in Texas.

St. Mary Cathedral was named a Texas state historic landmark in 1968 and a national historic landmark in 1973. In 1979, in recognition of the cathedral's importance to the community and the state of Texas, as well as the historical impact it had on Catholicism in the state of Texas, Pope John Paul II elevated St. Mary Cathedral to the status of a minor basilica

St. Mary's Cathedral (Colorado Springs, Colorado)
Architect: L. A. Pease, Thomas P. Barber
1891-1898 Architecture

See Details

St. Mary's Cathedral is a Catholic cathedral located in Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States. It is the seat of the Diocese of Colorado Springs. The property on which St. Mary's sits was purchased for $3,100 in 1888.

St. Mary's Catholic Cathedral (Cheyenne, Wyoming)
Architect: Fisher and Lowery
1906 - - 09 Architecture

See Details

St. Mary's Cathedral is the cathedral and parish church in the Diocese of Cheyenne located in Cheyenne, Wyoming, United States.

The parish was founded as St. John the Baptist in 1867 and erected a frame church. The congregation outgrew the small brick church and construction of the new cathedral began in 1906.

Select Pages

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52

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.

Click Images to Enlarge. Once open, images can be magnified by clicking within them or by dragging on right lower corner.