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Taking a Look at Saint Patrick's Cathedral

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Saint Patrick's Cathedral, one of New York's greatest cathedrals, is located in Manhattan at 14 E. 51st St. The main reason the cathedral was built was to affirm the ascendance of religious freedom and tolerance. Thousands of poor immigrants and one hundred three prominent citizens helped pay contributions toward the church. The prominent citizens paid approximately one thousand dollars each.This cathedral supports the idea that not one single generation builds a cathedral, but rather the past, present, and future generations do. According to the official website for St. Patrick's Cathedral, the cathedral was first opened in 1879, after it had begun construction in 1858. Archbishop John Hughes announced his idea of building a “new” St. …show more content…

However, the only feature of the cathedral that is there today but was not added during the original construction was the stained glass windows which were made between 1912 and 1930. Paul Vincent, an English stained glass artist, was responsible for making the stained glass. Then, in 1927 and 1931, the cathedral went under renovations. According to the official website of the Archdiocese of New York, these renovations included a larger sanctuary and the introduction of the great organ. Many years down the road, in 1976, the cathedral was made a National Landmark. Since the original construction of the cathedral, there have been a few restorations. In the 1940's and the 1970's, major capital improvements were made under the cardinals Spellman and Cooke. The organs in the cathedral, also called the Kilgen organs, were restored during the mid 1990's, and thirteen years later in 2003, the Lady Chapel was restored. Most recently, the main altar, the chapels of Saints Anthony, Elizabeth, Jean Baptiste de la Salle, Louis and Michael were restored. Also included in these restorations was the sacristy. Recent construction workers have added a new shrine for Our Lady of Czestochowa. From the outside of the cathedral, I could see the scaffolding since it was going under construction. Even though the cathedral is beautiful on the inside, the outside does not do it justice. Approaching the cathedral, it is

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