The Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception is the

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

of the

Archdiocese of Denver The Archdiocese of Denver () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in northern Colorado in the United States. It is part of the XIII Conference Region and includes 113 parishes, 307 priests, and an est ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. It is located at the corner of Logan Street and

Colfax Avenue Colfax Avenue is the main street that runs east–west through the Denver metropolitan area in Colorado. As U.S. Highway 40, it was one of two principal highways serving Denver before the Interstate Highway System was constructed. In the loca ...

in the North Capitol Hill neighborhood of central

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

History

Construction of the cathedral started in 1902 and was completed in 1911 with a final cost of approximately $500,000. The inaugural

Mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

was held on October 27, 1912, and consecration was in 1921. On August 7, 1912, lightning struck the west tower causing damage to the upper ; however, this was repaired before the opening. The cathedral was raised to the status of

minor basilica Basilicas are Catholic church buildings that have a designation, conferring special privileges, given by the Pope. Basilicas are distinguished for ceremonial purposes from other churches. The building need not be a basilica in the architectura ...

on Christmas Day 1979. On August 13 and 14, 1993 (for

World Youth Day World Youth Day (WYD) is an event for the youth organized by the Catholic Church that was initiated by Pope John Paul II in 1985. Its concept has been influenced by the Light-Life Movement that has existed in Poland since the 1960s, where dur ...

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

celebrated Mass at the cathedral, one of only a few cathedrals in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

so honored. In June 1997, lightning struck a second time, but this time damaged the east tower. The parish completed work to restore the tower within eight months. During the first days of the

George Floyd protests The George Floyd protests were a series of protests, riots, and demonstrations against police brutality that began in Minneapolis in the United States on May 26, 2020. The protests and civil unrest began in Minneapolis as Reactions to the mu ...

from May 29 to June 1, 2020, the cathedral basilica was vandalized multiple times by protesters. Damage included

arson Arson is the act of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, watercr ...

, spray-painted

anti-Catholic Anti-Catholicism is hostility towards Catholics and opposition to the Catholic Church, its clergy, and its adherents. Scholars have identified four categories of anti-Catholicism: constitutional-national, theological, popular and socio-cul ...

phrases, and police

tear gas Tear gas, also known as a lachrymatory agent or lachrymator (), sometimes colloquially known as "mace" after the Mace (spray), early commercial self-defense spray, is a chemical weapon that stimulates the nerves of the lacrimal gland in the ey ...

penetrating the building. No one in the cathedral basilica was injured during the protests. In October 2021 the cathedral was vandalized again with graffiti being sprayed on doors and statues around the cathedral. It was the latest in a spate of vandalism against Catholic churches in Colorado which had damaged at least 25 other church buildings.

Architecture

Architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

Leon Coquard Leon, Léon (French) or León (Spanish) may refer to: Places Europe * León, Spain, capital city of the Province of León * Province of León, Spain * Kingdom of León, an independent state in the Iberian Peninsula from 910 to 1230 and again fro ...

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

designed the cathedral in the

French Gothic French Gothic architecture is an architectural style which emerged in France in 1140, and was dominant until the mid-16th century. The most notable examples are the great Gothic cathedrals of France, including Notre-Dame Cathedral, Reims Cathed ...

style. Its character is influenced by the 13th-century Saint Nicholas Collegiate church (''collégiale Saint-Nicolas'') of

Munster, Moselle Munster (; ; Lorraine Franconian: ''Minschder'') is a commune in the Moselle department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. Demographics Architecture Notable buildings include the 13th-century Saint Nicholas Collegiate Roman Catholic chu ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, which is the birthplace of Bishop

Nicholas Chrysostom Matz Nicholas Chrysostom Matz (April 6, 1850 – August 9, 1917) was a French-born prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Denver from 1889 until his death in 1917. Biography Nicholas Matz was born in Munster, Moselle (Lorraine) t ...

, who supervised cathedral construction. The building is in the shape of a Latin cross measuring with the nave rising to . The main façade houses three entrances and is framed by two spires. The structure is constructed of Indiana limestone and

granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...

from

Gunnison, Colorado Gunnison is a home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Gunnison County, Colorado. The city population was 6,560 at the 2020 United States census. The city was named in honor of John W. Gunnison, a ...

. The altar, statuary, pedestals, pulpit, communion rail, and bishop's chair are all made of

Carrara marble Carrara marble, or Luna marble (''marmor lunense'') to the Romans, is a type of white or blue-grey marble popular for use in sculpture and building decor. It has been quarried since Roman times in the mountains just outside the city of Carrara ...

from Carrara, Italy, while other element features including the confessional, vestibules, balustrades, risers, steps, baseboards, and pillar bases are all made out of

Yule marble Yule Marble is a marble of metamorphosed Leadville Limestone found only in the Yule Creek Valley, in the West Elk Mountains of Colorado, southeast of the town of Marble, Colorado.Marble Quadrangle, Colorado; USGS 7.5-minute series topogr ...

stone from

Marble, Colorado The Town of Marble is a List of cities and towns in Colorado#Statutory town, Statutory Town in Gunnison County, Colorado, Gunnison County, Colorado, United States. The town population was 133 at the 2020 United States census. History The Town o ...

. Interior decorations of the cathedral were carefully thought out under the supervision of Thomas H. Miller. Traditional painter decorations were set aside to allow for the two

colors of rich cream and delicate gray to create their own harmony. These colors of marble also help to bring out the luminous colors of the 75

stained glass windows Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

which contain more than 20,000 pieces of stained-glass. The 75 stained-glass windows are from the Royal Bavarian Art Institute in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

founded by Franz Xaver Zettler. These stained-glass windows were crafted by 50 artisans and cost $34,000 for all 75 windows, but now a single stained-glass window would cost $500,000. The church has the most leaded stained glass of any church in North America. Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes Stained Glass Window

Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes Stained Glass Window

The floor is made out of Pearl shells which resided in the Elbe River. These shells would go through a multitude of steps including being mixed with other products before hardening into a dark green floor. This process also allows the floor to be both water and fireproof. The building also includes a thoroughly thought-out heating and ventilation system. The whole cathedral is heated by two Kewanee boilers, which is twice the amount it needs to be heated. This was done as a precaution if one of the boilers was to stop working. The ventilation system consists of two fans powered by variable-speed motors. These fans make this one of the best ventilated buildings in the country since they can change the entirety of the building's air in just 11 minutes. When opened, the cathedral could accommodate 1,000 worshipers. However, due to significant alterations following the liturgical reforms initiated at the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , was the 21st and most recent ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City for session ...

(including the removal of the historic stone altar rail and the expansion of the chancel to accommodate a second, freestanding altar) the church now accommodates 895.

Ministries

The cathedral offers three daily and six Sunday Masses as well as other sacraments regularly. Additional services to the community include the yearly provision of 50,000–60,000 lunches to the poor in the area.

References

External links

Official Cathedral Site

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Denver Official Site
{{Denver Roman Catholic churches in Denver Immaculate Conception Denver Immaculate Conception Denver Roman Catholic churches completed in 1911 Colorado State Register of Historic Properties Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Colorado National Register of Historic Places in Denver Religious organizations established in 1860 Gothic Revival church buildings in Colorado 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United States

History

Architecture

Ministries

See also

References

External links