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| The interior of St. Raphael Cathedral in Madison after the renovation in 1955. (Catholic Herald file photo) |
Seventh in a series on the 75th anniversary of the Diocese of Madison
When the Diocese of Madison was created in 1946, St. Raphael Church, the first Catholic church in the city of Madison, was chosen as the cathedral church of the new diocese.
Msgr. William Mahoney was the pastor at that time.
St. Raphael Parish has a history in Madison that dates back to before Wisconsin became a state.
History of St. Raphael Parish
In the early 1840s, Irish immigrants settled in and near the Madison isthmus, forming St. Raphael Parish.
The first recorded act of this new parish was the celebration of the Mass on August 15, 1842, by Fr. Martin Kundig, a missionary from Detroit, in the old territorial Capitol building in Madison.
About 10 Catholic families attended this Mass.
On November 15, 1842, Wisconsin Territorial Governor J.D. Doty, a friend of Fr. Samuel Mazzuchelli, OP, donated land for the parish buildings and parking lot.
In the meantime, Frs. Adalbert Inama and Max Gaertner and other visiting priests offered Mass in homes and in the new State Capitol building.
Fr. Robert D. Whitehead was appointed the first pastor, remaining six months in 1848, the year Wisconsin became a state.
The first frame church was built in 1848. It was 20 X 24 feet in size, large enough at that time to care for the young congregation.
In 1853, Fr. Francis Etchmann, the second pastor, began work on a new St. Raphael Church building. The cornerstone was laid in 1854.
Archbishop John Henni of Milwaukee dedicated the new church on March 10, 1855. However, it was not ready for use until 1862.
In 1885, a bell tower and spire were constructed at a cost of $8,000. A new rectory was constructed in 1897.
A new school was dedicated in 1911.
St. Raphael is renovated
After Bishop William P. O’Connor designated St. Raphael as the cathedral, it was the location of his installation as the Bishop of the Diocese of Madison on March 12, 1946.
In order for St. Raphael Cathedral to be more suitable for episcopal functions in the new Diocese of Madison, the diocese revealed plans in October of 1952 to renovate the cathedral with the cost estimated at $100,000.
In the spring of 1953, the work of renovating the cathedral was begun.
The entire area beneath the church, which had no foundation, was excavated, and a parish hall, with kitchen, cloakroom, and other facilities, was constructed.
A two-story sacristy connecting the church and the rectory was added.
The old side altars, sacristies, and wall behind the main altar were removed to enlarge the sanctuary, and a new liturgical main altar was installed.
The renovation also included the installation of five new confessionals, a new lighting system, and interior decorating.
The same yard-thick stones hauled by oxen from the Barry farm quarry in Fitchburg Township in 1854 were used in the renovation.
The new main altar was oak-canopied and of white marble from Florence, Italy.
Behind it was a glass and marble mosaic of Ss. Raphael and Tobias framed in carved pale green marble. It was made in Venice.
New Stations of the Cross were installed.
The architectural work was done by the firm of John Flad & Associates of Madison and interior decorating was done by the Rambusch Decorating Company of New York.
Dedication of renovated cathedral
The dedication of the renovated cathedral was held on March 10, 1955, with Cardinal Samuel Stritch of Chicago, former Archbishop of Milwaukee, presiding.
At the dedication, Cardinal Stritch said, “Ever since Bishop O’Connor came to Madison, he has longed to give the diocese a fitting cathedral. This today is an accomplished fact.”
He added, “But this great work is just an evidence of the spiritual structure Bishop O’Connor has been building. His clergy and people have been united with him, not merely in the doing of this beautiful material thing, but in making it the expression of their love of God.”
Bishop O’Connor said of the renovated cathedral in praising the parishioners of St. Raphael, it is “a beautiful monument to the faith, devotion, and love of the people of St. Raphael’s.”
More on the cathedral will be included in future articles in this series.
Sources: Building Our Future in Faith: Commemorative History of the Catholic Diocese of Madison (1996); archives of the Catholic Herald newspaper; and histories of St. Raphael Cathedral Parish.
Mary C. Uhler served on the staff of the Catholic Herald-Diocese of Madison for almost 47 years, the last 34 years as editor. She retired in July of 2020.