A huge thank you to all the donors who gave so generously on Give to the Max Day and helped the Cathedral Heritage Foundation raise $7,700 dollars on Nov. 16th. The donations will go to support the CHF’s mission to support music, arts & culture as well as the preservation and restoration of this historic landmark.

On the evening of September 23, the Rose Window over the front doors was lit for the first time. The  “Festival of Lights” was the CHF’s inaugural fundraising event to help restore and preserve this world-class treasure in our community.  Read more about the project by clicking here.

Cathedral Treasures Moved to U of M for Safe Keeping

The Cathedral Heritage Foundation received a Cultural Arts & Heritage Grant from the Minnesota Historical Society. It will be used to make the archives more accessible to the public.  The original sketches of the Cathedral’s design by architect Emmanuel Masqueray were picked up earlier this spring from the Cathedral Archives and taken to the University of Minnesota archives for safe, climate-controlled storage. The public can view the originals at the U and digital copies of the sketches may be viewed at the Cathedral.

Fourth Annual Cathedral Family Day highlights art and music

Fourth  Annual Cathedral Family Day on Sunday, March 6, 2011

Costumed tour guides | Pipe Organ demonstrations | MN Children’s Museum Art Projects | Science Experiments

Thank you to all our volunteers and community partners in helping make our 4th Annual Family & Community Day a success:

• Minnesota Children’s Museum in helping 350 children create framed art pieces
• Minnesota Science Museum for bringing their exhibit on mummification and ancient rituals of burying the dead
• St. Joseph’s School of Music students and faculty for their performances on violin, guitar and piano
• University of St. Thomas retired professor James Callahan for conducting live organ demonstrations
• College of Visual Arts students for exhibiting their line perspective drawings of the Cathedral’s interior
• Northern Star Boy Scouts for serving as ushers and greeters
• And to the many tour guides who delighted visitors with stories about the Cathedral and its history.

“There should be no one who, entering the Cathedral is not able to say…‘it is mine.’”
~ Archbishop John Ireland 1838-1918

The danger with something that belongs to everyone is that very few will take responsibility for it. Please be generous in helping to preserve the Cathedral of Saint Paul for centuries to come.

Thank you to all who have contributed to our much needed restoration projects at the Cathedral.  We are making progress thanks to you!
 

$6 Million

$6 Million remains of a $35 Million dollar effort on the emergency restoration of the Cathedral’s copper dome and roof in 2000-02. The work was necessary to preserve this Beaux Arts landmark which is still
the highest point in Saint Paul in more ways than one!

$14 Million

$14 Million is needed to repair the interior damage caused by leaks in the dome and roof before the exterior restoration. Not simply aesthetic, the damage affects the stone as well as the ornamental plasterwork of the interior. The mechanical infrastructure of the Cathedral is also overdue for improvement/replacement.

$400,000

$400,000 remains of a $2.5 million urgent organ restoration project for the Cathedral’s two historic pipe organs. Thanks to a major corporate sponsorship, this project has been able to get underway. Please help us reach our goal of raising an additional $400,000. This will preserve classic examples of American musical craftsmanship by Ernest Skinner and include the intended but never executed casework for the gallery organ to complement
the Rose Window. The world-class musical ensembles that perform in the annual concert series, as well as the Cathedral’s liturgical life, require this investment. Deterioration from age has placed these great pipe organs in imminent danger of failure.

Learn more about the renovation project at www.soundoff.cathedralheritagefoundation.org.