Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception is the motherchurch of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mobile.

The Cathedral-Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, is the seat of the Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mobile. The cathedral is named for Mary, mother of Jesus, under her title, Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception. Image File history File linksMetadata Cathedral1. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Cathedral1. ... A motherchurch or mother church in Christianity is used in three forms. ... The Archdiocese of Mobile (Archidioecesis Mobiliensis) is a Catholic Archdiocese covering 22,969 square miles (59,467 km^2) in southern Alabama and Mississippi and governing the Diocese of Biloxi, the Diocese of Birmingham, and the Diocese of Jackson. ... In Christianity, an archbishop is an elevated bishop. ... The Archdiocese of Mobile (Archidioecesis Mobiliensis) is a Catholic Archdiocese covering 22,969 square miles (59,467 km^2) in southern Alabama and Mississippi and governing the Diocese of Biloxi, the Diocese of Birmingham, and the Diocese of Jackson. ... According to the New Testament, Mary (Judeo-Aramaic מרים Maryām Bitter; Arabic مريم (Maryam); Septuagint Greek Μαριαμ, Mariam, Μαρια, Maria; Geez: ማሪያም, Māryām; Syriac: Mart, Maryam, Madonna), was the mother of Jesus of Nazareth, who at the time of his conception was the betrothed wife of Saint Joseph (cf. ... Mary, mother of Jesus as the Immaculate Conception. ...

Located at 2 S. Claiborne St., in downtown Mobile, Alabama, it is bounded by Dauphin St. on the north; Franklin St. on the west; and Conti St. on the south. The building, laid out in an east-west axis, is 164 ft. long and 90 ft. wide. The ceiling is 60 ft. at its highest point, and its twin towers rise to 103 ft. The front of the church faces east, toward the direction of the Mobile River. Nickname: The Azalea City Coordinates: Country US State Alabama County Mobile Founded 1702 Incorporated 1814 Mayor Sam Jones Area    - City 412. ... The Mobile River located in southern Alabama, United States. ...

The cathedral, designed in 1833, by Claude Beroujon, a former seminarian turned architect, is laid out in a Roman basilica design. Construction began in 1835, but the Panic of 1837, caused a shortage of funds and delayed progress. The cathedral was consecrated for public worship in 1850, by Bishop Michael Portier, though Beroujon’s design was not yet fully realized. The portico and towers were to come later. St. ... 1840 Whig campaign poster blames Van Buren for hard times The Panic of 1837 was an economic depression, one of the most severe financial crises in the history of the United States. ... Michael Portier, born Sep 7, 1795, in Montbrison, France, was a Roman Catholic bishop and the first Bishop of Mobile. ...

On May 25, 1865, a Union Army ammunition depot exploded, killing some 300 persons, and burning much of Mobile. The windows and sashes on the north side of the cathedral were blown in by the explosion. Fortunately, there were no services being held in the cathedral at the time. On May 25, 1865, in Mobile, Alabama, in the Southern United States, an ordnance depot or magazine exploded, killing some 300 persons. ...

The classical portico, with eight massive columns of the Roman Doric order, was added in the 1870’s, under the direction of Bishop John Quinlan. The twin towers were completed in 1884, during the watch of Bishop Jeremiah O'Sullivan. A refined canonic version of the Orders engraved for the Encyclopédie, vol. ... Categories: Architectural elements | Stub ... For other meanings of the term, see column (disambiguation). ... The uncompleted Doric temple at Segesta, Sicily, has been waiting for finishing of its surfaces since 430–420 BC The Doric order was one of the three orders or organizational systems of Ancient Greek or classical architecture; the other two orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian. ... John Quinlan, born October 19, 1826, in Cloyne, Ireland, was a Roman Catholic bishop and the second Bishop of Mobile. ... Jeremiah OSullivan (born February 6, 1842 in Kanturk, County Cork, Ireland), was a Roman Catholic bishop, and the fourth Bishop of Mobile. ...

One of the cathedral’s finest attributes is its stained glass windows. The windows were made in Munich, Germany by Franz Mayer & Co., and installed beginning in 1890. The last window was installed in 1910, during the time of Bishop Edward Patrick Allen. The twelve main windows, six on the south wall and six on the north wall, are approximately 8 feet wide and 23 feet tall. Each window depicts an event involving Mary in the life of her son, Jesus. The subjects of the south wall windows are Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, the Presentation of Mary, the Annunciation, the Visitation, the Nativity of Jesus, and the Holy Family. The themes of the north wall are Finding of the Child Jesus at the Temple, the Marriage Feast of Cana, the Crucifixion of Jesus, Pentecost, the Assumption of Mary, and the Coronation of Mary, Queen of Heaven. Franz Mayer and Co. ... Bishop Edward Patrick Allen, born March 17, 1853, in Lowell, Massachusetts, was a Roman Catholic bishop and the fifth Bishop of Mobile. ... The feast of the Presentation of Mary is not based on a Biblical event, but rather an incident mentioned in the Infancy Narrative of James. ... A key piece of the Paleologan Mannerism - the Annunciation icon from Ohrid. ... The Visitation is a Catholic feast day (2 July) commemorating the visit of the Virgin Mary to Elizabeth as recorded in the Gospel of Luke. ... Adoration of the Shepherds (1535-40), by Florentine Mannerist painter Agnolo Bronzino Nativity windows at Trinity Church, Boston, designed by Edward Burne-Jones and executed by William Morris, 1882 The Nativity of Jesus, or simply the Nativity, is a story of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. ... The Flight into Egypt: Jesus, the Virgin Mary and St. ... Depiction of Jesus at age twelve from Jesus and the doctors of the Faith, a painting by the entourage of Giuseppe Ribera. ... In the Christian New Testament, the Gospel of John refers a number of times to a town called Cana of Galilee. ... The Passion is the theological term used for the suffering, both physical and mental, of Jesus in the hours prior to and including his trial and execution by crucifixion. ... Pentecost (symbolically related to the Jewish festival of Shavuot) is a feast on the Christian liturgical calendar that commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles, and the followers (men and women) of Jesus, fifty days (seven weeks) after Easter, and ten days after Ascension Thursday. ... The Assumption has been a subject of Christian art for centuries. ... Queen of Heaven is a title of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Roman Catholicism. ...

The Reconciliation Room houses a window depicting the Baptism of Jesus. St. Cecilia, patron saint of music, is the subject of the window in the stairway to the choir loft. Eight smaller windows can be found in the doors at the entrance to the cathedral. The baptism of Jesus is an event recounted in the New Testament in which Jesus is baptised by John the Baptist. ... Saint Cecilia Saint Cecilia in the Catholic Church the patron saint of music and of the blind. ... Saint Quentin is the patron saint of locksmiths and is also invoked against coughs and sneezes. ...

Disaster struck on March 19, 1954, when a homeless man, seeking shelter in the church, caused a fire that destroyed the sanctuary. The church still stood, but the interior suffered damage from fire, smoke, and water from the firefighters’ attempt to control the blaze. The damaged stained glass windows were repaired and restored in Munich at the workshops of Franz Mayer, using the original drawings as a guide. Bishop Thomas Joseph Toolen’s restoration efforts included the addition of a massive bronze baldachin, supported by four marble columns, and a new mahogany cathedra and pulpit. A new organ, built by the Wicks Organ Company, was installed and is in use today. Archbishop Thomas Joseph Toolen, born February 28, 1886, in Baltimore, Maryland, was a Roman Catholic bishop and the sixth Bishop of Mobile. ... The Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller at Rhodes under a canopy of estate, on a dais: there is a cushion under his feet A baldachin, baldachino or baldacchino is a canopy of state over an altar or throne, It had its beginnings as a cloth canopy, but in other... The cathedra of the Pope in the apse of St. ... For other uses of Ambo, see Ambo, Ethiopia, Kom Ombo, ambulance Ambo (band). ... The Wicks Organ Company produces pipe organs. ...

In the 1970’s Bishop John L. May made modifications to the sanctuary in compliance with the 1970, General Instruction of the Roman Missal. [1] The altar was moved forward and the altar rails were removed. The cathedra was moved to its present location on the south end of the sanctuary facing the congregation. At this time, Bishop May also added a bronze representation of the Risen Christ above the baldachin and a large crucifix over the tabernacle. Archbishop John Lawrence May (born March 31, 1922 Evanston, Illinois - died March 24, 1994 St. ...

Archbishop Oscar Lipscomb led the most recent restoration effort, earlier this decade. Under his direction, the cast iron fence was restored and repaired, and the cathedral exterior was cleaned and repaired. An interior overhaul, executed by Conrad Schmitt Studios, included a coffer ceiling above the main aisle. The coffers are decorated with alternating gold-leafed fleur-de-lis and shamrock, symbolically representing the Trinity, as well as the contributions of the French and Irish religious to the life of the Archdiocese. New lighting and a new color scheme brightens the interior. White marble flooring was installed in the aisles and the heart pine floors under the pews were refinished. Embedded in the marble floor of the main aisle are the coats-of-arms of the Mobile bishops and archbishops. A mural of the Tree of Jesse was installed above the pipe organ. Archbishop Oscar Hugh Lipscomb, D.D., Ph. ... Conrad Schmitt Studios is an architectural arts studio located in New Berlin, Wisconsin. ... Coffering on the ceiling of the Pantheon, Rome In architecture, a coffer is (plural: coffering) is a sunken panel in the shape of a square or octagon that serves as a decorative device, usually in a ceiling. ... Fleurs-de-lys on the flag of Quebec The fleur-de-lis (also spelled fleur-de-lys; plural fleurs-de-lis or -lys) is used in heraldry, where it is particularly associated with the France monarchy (see King of France). ... The Shamrock The shamrock, an unofficial symbol of Ireland and Boston, Massachusetts, is a three-leaved young white clover, sometimes (rarely nowadays) Trifolium repens (white clover, known in Irish as seamair bhán) but more usually today Trifolium dubium (lesser clover, Irish: seamair bhuí). However, other three leafed plants such... For other uses, see Trinity (disambiguation). ... Heraldry is the science and art of describing of coats-of-arms, also referred to as achievements or armorial bearings. ... 13th representation of the Tree of Jesse, ivory panel, Louvre The Tree of Jesse, in traditional Christian art, is a visual representation of Jesus ancestry. ...

In 1962, Pope John XXIII elevated the cathedral to a minor basilica, a title bestowed, only by the pope, on churches of historical and spiritual importance. A basilica is entitled to have its own coat-of-arms. Other basilica insignia include Pope John XXIII's personal coat-of-arms installed above the cathedral entrance, the yellow and red Umbracullum, or umbrella, and tintinabulum, or bell, in the sanctuary. Blessed Pope John XXIII (Latin: ), (Italian: Giovanni XXIII), born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli (November 25, 1881 – June 3, 1963), was elected as the 261st Pope of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City on October 28, 1958. ... The Basilica of St. ... Coat of arms during the sede vacante - featuring an umbracullum The umbracullum, a Latin word derived from umbra shade for a sun-umbrella, is a historic piece of the papal regalia and insignia, once used on a daily basis to provide shade for the pope. ...

References

• Buck, Sharon V. "The Stained Glass Windows of Mobile's Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception"
• Lipscomb, Oscar H. (2005). Mobile’s Cathedral, 1850-2004. Mobile: Archdiocese of Mobile
• Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception official web page
• Photographs from the book "Mobile's Cathedral" by Archbishop Oscar H. Lipscomb designed and photographed by Michael Mastro. [2]"