Corpus Christi Cathedral continues to serve 80 years after its dedication

Celebration for laying the cornerstone.

From the Doc McGregor Collection at the Corpus Christi Museum of Science and History
 

Hundreds of faithful Catholics filled Broadway, Lipan and other nearby streets on July 17, 1940 waiting for the doors to open at their new Cathedral. It was a clear day with a few clouds in the sky. Minutes before 10 a.m. the bells in the two towers that shot up 97 and 125 feet into the sky began ringing and a large procession of priests led by Bishop Mariano S. Garriga, co-adjutor of the Diocese of Corpus Christi, began to make their way into the newly completed sanctuary.

Bishop Emmanuel Ledvina and Archbishop Joseph F. Rummel of New Orleans followed the priestly procession. The bishop blessed the structure and celebrated Mass while Archbishop Rummel delivered the homily. Masses were held throughout the remainder of the day to accommodate all those who wanted the see the principal church in their diocese to which they had generously contributed. 

“Death will, sooner or later, remove you and me from this earthly scene; but the church buildings will continue to stand serving each succeeding episcopal administration and generation of people,” Bishop Ledvina said in an informative pamphlet he sent the faithful on March 6, 1938, a year before the diocese broke ground on the new structure. “We aim to build at this time for a future of many, many years.”

Eighty years later the cathedral Bishop Ledvina’s episcopal administration built continues to serve a new generation of Catholics. On July 17, 2020 the Diocese of Corpus Christi will mark the 80th anniversary of its Cathedral.

Bishop Ledvina did not aspire for extravagance. He wanted a practical building, not too costly but built of material that would last to serve future generations and sturdy enough to withstand a hurricane. He projected the cost to be about $250,000. When completed, the Cathedral–built of 171 tons of reinforced steel and 174 tons of structural steel by 100 percent union labor–could withstand 150-mile-per-hour winds. The final cost was $500,000, or $8.4 million in today’s currency.

The Corpus Christi Cathedral was the first church in Texas consecrated as a cathedral and the first cathedral in the world named after the Body of Christ.

It is customary, when a diocese is established the most significant church in the See City is designated as the cathedral. In Corpus Christi that was St. Patrick’s Church. But St. Patrick’s did not meet with the approbation of Bishop Ledvina who bemoaned that his diocese had “the poorest looking cathedral” and that “in the whole of the United States this is the only See City and diocese that has only a little frame church for its cathedral.” Thanks to Bishop Ledvina’s vision, in time Corpus Christi had the first sanctuary in Texas built to house a cathedral.

The idea for a new cathedral had been around for some time. Bishop Ledvina said that during a visit to Rome, Pope Pius XI had commented the diocese had “a most beautiful name” and suggested that the Cathedral be named same as the diocese. Moreover, the bishop said, people–including parishioners and visitors–would often ask, “When will we get a new cathedral?” 

Throughout 1938, the bishop continued to appeal for funds to build a new cathedral, as he did not want to go into debt to build it. He insisted on a “pay-as-you-go” approach. The family of John Kenedy had donated the land and architectural plans were complete by July, but contributions were slow in coming.

“To gratify the vanity of big talkers and small givers is certainly not our intention,” the bishop wrote.

The need for a new cathedral took on added urgency on Nov. 28, 1938 when St. Patrick’s caught fire and was badly damaged.

Bishop Ledvina continued to keep the people informed with periodic pamphlets that included architectural renderings of the proposed cathedral. Architect C.L. Monnot used his design of the National Shrine of the Little Flower, built in San Antonio in 1931, as the model for the Corpus Christi Cathedral. 

On March 1, 1939, Bishop Ledvina and Bishop Garriga broke ground for the new cathedral. Immediately after the blessing and ceremonial shoveling, San Antonio contractor Walsh and Burney moved in his steam shovel and began digging the foundation and basement. 

By Christmas most of the structure was up but most of the money was gone. Bishop Ledvina had to go against his initial instincts and borrowed $100,000 and alerted the faithful that another $100,000 would be needed to complete and furnish the inside of the cathedral. He prompted parishioners to double their Sunday contributions so that they could make the annual payment of the cathedral debt.

One year after the groundbreaking, on March 1, 1940, the cathedral cornerstone was blessed. Sealed in the cornerstone was a papyrus document, copies of the Corpus Christi Caller and the Southern Messenger, and names of the church committee, local, state and national elected officials. Also placed in a copper box were silver coins of the Holy See, baring the image of Pope Pius XI who had died the year before.

Bishop Garriga announced that the church would be known as Corpus Christi Cathedral in keeping with a suggestion made by both Pope Pius XI and his successor Pope Pius XII, with whom the co-adjutor bishop had met the summer before. The St. Patrick name would be kept and given to the next parish that would be established. 

On July 17, 1940, the Corpus Christi Cathedral was ready for occupancy. The Spanish mission style architecture stood out on the bluff overlooking Corpus Christi Bay. The church could sit 1,100 worshipers and the choir loft had room for 200. Twenty-four crypts were located in the basement for entombment of the diocese’s bishops.

It would be another 12 years before the loans Bishop Ledvina tried hard to avoid were paid off. On Sept. 19, 1952, after the Cathedral was debt-free, Bishop Garriga presided over the consecration of the Cathedral. Canon Law requires that the “solemnity of a church dedication is observed for eight days,” hence a week after the consecration, on Sept. 25, 1952, Cardinal Samuel Stritch of Chicago celebrated the first Pontifical Mass.

Bishop Ledvina and Bishop Garriga broke ground for the new cathedral On March 1, 1939. 

Archival photo