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Show iWith the consecration of the new j3,ooo,ooo Cathedral of st iouis the old Cathedral, built eighty years ago, in which thieo Archbishop have been consecrated, and one Bishop, and where thousands of people have worshiped, will become a quiet little church, tucked away and forgotten In the hurry of everyday lift. In the downtown section of St Louis, almost on the river front. v Erected when St. Louis was little more than an outpost in the wilderness, wilder-ness, the old Cathedral Is the most ajiclent building of Its sort In the valley of the Mississippi. hen it was built, in 130, the aristocratic portion of St. Louis was on the river banks. It saw the growth of the Mississippi steamship trade, the Inrush In-rush of the German Immigration In the forties. In the old Cathedral the Missouri Catholics made their laet devotions before starling for the Mexican War, and It was th?rc that the forty-niners, crossing the plains to California, made their peace with God before entering on the long trail. 1 "When ins archdiocese of Baltimore, Balti-more, long the most prominent In America, was struggling for existence, exist-ence, the St. Louis Cathedral was an established place of worship It was built long before Catholicism had gained tolerance In Boston, where today it is unusually strong. The entire building is reminiscent reminis-cent of the old days, from the magnificent mag-nificent paintings within to t ho French inscriptions on thr walls, 1 jjP mute souvenirs of the days when BsB French were the only settlers HH of Importance in the Mississippi MSB Valley, and of the French Bishop HHi ho Panned and built the Cathe- SW dral. SB Tnc building jtands on ground Bfl that has boen consecrated almost KM since the first white foot trod on the Kfll present site of St, Louis. Long be- fore the date set by written records jH far the building of the first church BMbm there is a tradition of a lone church SDH in the wilderness, where the Illinois jH n3 Other Indians came to wor- ship and where the Couriers Du HH Bols, the French and Spanish trap- BB pers and explorers, made their de- votlons. It was thought that th B. church was established and kept up by tbe Jesuit missionaries who, dui- ing the days of the French occupation, occu-pation, were everywhere along the course of the Mississippi and Us tributaries. The only hint of the building, however. Is contained In tho records of the Jesuits and the writings or the scalar priests who came with the first settlers of St. Louis The first record of the traditional church Is to be found In the records rec-ords of Father Valentine, the first rector of the log church, wherein he wrote- BELL OF LOG CHURCH V IS BAPTIZED. "I, the undersigned, have this day, December 2 4, 1 7 7 4, baptised with the ordinary ceremonies of the church a new bell, which was named Pierre Joseph Fellclte. and the godfather of which was the Hon Pierre Joseph de Piernos. captain cap-tain In the Louis Battalion and Lieutenant Governor of Illinois, and tho godmother Lidy Fellclte de Piernos do Partneuf. who signed with me the day and the year as above " Prior to this time, other records state., the congregation had been called together by beating a hug Iron mortar with a pestle. However When Pierre Laclede came, up the Mississippi and after much work had nailed the arms of France on a tree, drew his sword and took possession of tho territory terri-tory in the name of the King of France, his first thought was for a chur.h, and he Immediately cast about for ways and means. Accordingly, Accord-ingly, in 1773, about the time tnat the New England revolutionists were busting like angry hornets about the British troops in Boston, the hereditary enemies of the English, Eng-lish, the French, were calmly proceeding pro-ceeding with the erection of a log church. Seventy-five members of the parish par-ish subscribed the funds nccosaary to build the church, and It la a commentary on the progress of modern education that of the entire number but twenty were able to slan their names to the contract, the remainder muklng iheir marks. The entire- block, bounded by Second, Sec-ond, Walnut, Third and Market streets, wns set aside for tho church grounds and a cemetery, The cost Qf the building was 1,480 Wixt flassinjo f the In the I Pisstssippi alleu llvres, paid in shaved deerskins, tho medium of exchange on the frontier In those days, as attested by the church records. When the church was consecrated consecrat-ed there was a magnificent celebration. celebra-tion. The French settlers turned out In their court costumes, explorers explor-ers came from the whole Mississippi Vallev and the chiefs Of the Indian tribes, with whom tho French had made treaties of peuce, were present, pres-ent, resplendent In their feathers and beaded robes. For the erection of the log church every person in the colony over the age of 11 was assessed, and the money was raised quickly. It was 60 feet lon by CO wide, and was surrounded by a gallery supported sup-ported by white ash posts. One of the most curious thlncs in the specifications speci-fications for the church was that it should have a St. Andrew's cross, unusunl In any country except Scotland. Pierre Paron and Jean Cambraa were the builders, and Alexis Lalande wis appointed sexton, sex-ton, with the duty of ringing the bell morning, noon and evening. As time went on the parish grew, a:id it was not long before a bishop was sent from France to taico arc of St. Lo.ils and the scores f lltllo churches scattered through the wilderness wil-derness from New Orleans to Detroit. De-troit. Before thy conquest of Canada Can-ada this territory had been cared for by the church officials of Quebec Que-bec and Montreal, but with the advent ad-vent of the English there were many of the hierarchy went back to their native land. Bishop Du Bourg was the first prelate to arrive, ar-rive, shortly after th beginning art the nineteenth century, and about the lime of the sal? of th" Louisiana Louis-iana Territory to the United states by Napoleon. When the Bishop arrived he found the wooden church falling Into ruins, and foreseeing instantly that St. Louis was destined ! become be-come a great center of Catholicism he set about the bdllldlng of a brick church. Although the country coun-try had been taken possession of by the United States troop;', there had been, as yet. little emigration to the further shore of the Mississippi, the colonists being too busy fighting fight-ing the Indians in Kentucky and Illinois to push their conquests into such dangerous countrv as Missouri. Mis-souri. Alton, 111 , was then the large American settlement In the: Mississippi region, and for many years afterward It held the front, until the rush of the Germans following fol-lowing the rebellion of 184S built up St. Louis Tn 1 SI 8 Bishop Du Bourg finally succeeded In gathering funds enough to go ahead with his building, build-ing, and in 1 820 be announced its completion, although previously services had been held there The congregation however, had Kone Into debt and to pay for the erection erec-tion of the church It was necessary to sell a part of the block orlginally set aside as holy ground to reimburse reim-burse Auguste Chouteau, the contractor. con-tractor. The bodies were taken from the cemetery and removed to i another part of the city and tho cemetery sold. The records, however, how-ever, neglect to glvo the price, and we have no Idea of what the land was worth In that day, v the parish grew, however, the i ' s began to settle more in other sections of the Mls-,i Mls-,i Valley, and it was found necessary to have a Cathedral, as due the authority and position of tho Bishop of St. Louis. Accordingly According-ly the request was made of Rome, and after much deliberation at the Vatican the Pope granted the necessary neces-sary permission Bishop ROSOtti wsi !n charge of the diocese at tho time. On March 28. 1830, Bishop Ro-eattl. Ro-eattl. from the pulpit, suggested the, erection of thw cathedral, and the Idea met with an immediate response. re-sponse. Within three weeks a mass meeting of the parishioners was held, the money subscribed and word Bent to the Pope that the build -ink" was under way Immediately word was sent out through the Catholic countries of Europe that It wa the intention to make the new building one of the most splendid In the world, In view of the important position It would hold in future years, and tho heir ' of all the faithful was asked In car- i- tlons. The response was Immcdl- The convents of Europe sent their r; fe J W HAYS, SUOUIS. ARCHBISHOP JOHN J. GLENNON and two .views ui the Old Cathedral at top. At lower left is a new photo of the New Cathedral. Ca-thedral. choicest lace and linen for altar cloths. The private art galleries were ransacked for religious paintings, paint-ings, and every ship that left Franco for New Orleans was louded with some treasure lor the building in tho wilderness. Louis XVIII. then enjoying his brief reign after the overthrow of Napoleon, sent articles of priceless value, and the Flemish Baroness 'andele de Guyscghem also was a heavy contributor. Paintings by Rubens, Raphael, Ouldo, Paul Veronese anfl other early mastere of the French, Italian Ital-ian and Flemish schools were sent, and they still ornament the walls of y the cathedral and the bishop's residence, resi-dence, now the humble home of a parish priest. Behind the high altar and the altars of tho Virgin and St. Joseph, hang three paintings which are scarcely known to the art lovers of the United States, but which are almost priceless. In August. 1 S n 1 , the cornerstono of the cathedral wm laid with Impressive Im-pressive ceremonies. The building was built a little to the west of the old church, which stood where tho corner of Second and Walnut streets now -la. Tho work went rapidly ahead, although rtono largely by hand, and on October 26, 1834. the last stone on the summit of the helfry whs swung Into plaee and tho building was consecrated. The completion of the belfry was a rather delicate undertaking for those days when there was no intricate intri-cate machinery run by k.tcam or electricity, and when H came time 1 for the swinging of the huge stone 4 t ' h ,. I ' ti tnaL OTt T W$m Wffit$& ;SssHsbbhIssbBbS J DVj-A place Is subdued. A huge rhotT toft overhangs half of the auditorium, " -aXrC The altar space Itself is unusually large, built to accommodate the 'This score or more of clergy who at ?xf. , times occupied seat." within the On the r.tht side of the high al- , tar is aii altar to the Blessed Virgin, Vir-gin, on the left one to St. Joseph. Among the maKnifiVont statues Bjrthri which ornament the building is one WWD II If. a of ( into place there was not a white man who dared undertake the task. All calls for volunteers were In vain until a huge slave. William Johnson John-son stepped out. He was swung up by the derrick, settled tho stone Into In-to position, and then stood on the peak of tho belfry, grinning and waving his hat, as if overjoyed with tho feat. When he descended the- ceremonies ceremo-nies began. Assisting Bishop B.o-sattl B.o-sattl wore the Bishops of Brods-town Brods-town and Cincinnati, and a hundred Catholic- priests from the vicinity of St. Louis The entire population of the city, only a few thousand, turned out to witness the exercises, and there was great celebration and feasting. The. building still has the same appe trance as on the day of its consecration: con-secration: except for the stains of tiui''. It Is built of stone In Doric architecture In front thero Is a portico forty feet wide, the roof of which, built after the style of tho Creek and Roman temples. Is upheld up-held by four Doric columns. The roof of the building, topped by the square, s'piat looking belfry, giving the cathedral a low appearance. The interior of the building is magnificent in its simplicity. Tho tabernacle and the hack of the hit;h iltar are exact replicas of the. portico. por-tico. The light is dimmed, sifting through a score of stained windows, and the whole atmosphere of Urn -7 St. Louis, who is the patron of the ; ?Ut cathedral and city. The bulldlpg I ffinj was consccrate.l to "tho honor of lht.t . , , , r. ! '" ' '' 'i' r the iiv.r Invocation of St. Louis of France. SMd In the facade of the building. o Jrri ,:. (1 car-, en as to bo almost able to j 3 aj withstand the effacements of tho frn5 weather and of time ure tho m s , ncriptions dedicating the buildlnf. ha Over the portico one reads ' in omf honorem S. Ludovlci Deo Ln et Trlno Dlctatum A. D. mdc-cxxxl. . lj Ze Tb. r, P. Kr-l-h and French Is the Inscrll n 'My house shall M . called the house of praver. J" t ( Inscriptions on th- Interior ot the Jeu building also aro in both tnglisj W Qf and French. The carvings on tJie exterior, themselves arc quaint Ji reminiscent of tho old times, for to- day they seldom are seen on ui . jertncs olic churches. i!ff(rn Today the old cathedral Is " 4 0,h dom visited by St. '' . lnt though it is the Mecca of thoutn of art overs icon all ;L' . r 1 nit d States. Tho transients Uj. n,,r, hol.ds and the poert strkken bvee population forrn nation: Ik sma " W the residents of tho parish feJ " chance of offerings of strange ij I ' -':r',,,",1 llr , o. ttt l'ote made up of the ch Idrcn o ' neighboring schools; toda tn Mjr th," ish 7n0'b00nred Vea?i "the s5etjj f th al' Vlgh mss'sMd'fcsUvals. j "Kj,- 11 W |