Saint Patrick's Cathedral

Saint Patrick's Cathedral, the Renaissance Revival seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg, is the second cathedral to stand on this prominent State Street property. Completed in 1907, it replaced a more modest predecessor erected in 1827 and enlarged and remodeled over the years. By 1868, growth in the Roman Catholic population of Central Pennsylvania, particularly spurred by Irish workers on the canal system, led the papacy to establish the Diocese of Harrisburg from the Diocese of Philadelphia to serve fifteen counties in the central Commonwealth, and Saint Patrick's became the new diocese's pro-cathedral. With the turn of the 20th century and the construction of the new Capitol Building, old Saint Patrick's gave way to this larger church in Harrisburg, designed in a style emulating the Basilica of Saint Peter in Rome. Its dome complements that of the State Capitol Building to the east, and its vast sanctuary features stained glass windows from Munich, Germany, marble columns and arches of the classical revival, and a grand pipe organ.

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania · United States