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A fixture of downtown Cheyenne, Cathedral of St. Mary celebrates 114 years

One of the many churches to fill the city, the Cathedral of St. Mary celebrated 114 years since its dedication.

The Cathedral of St. Mary in downtown Cheyenne. (Eve Hamilton/Cap City News)

CHEYENNE, Wyo. — The Cathedral of St. Mary has been a staple of Cheyenne for 114 years, and the history of the surrounding Catholic community goes even deeper.

The history of the Catholic Church in Cheyenne has been carefully collected by the cathedral and put together by parishioners throughout the years in a booklet that is available to the public.

The stained-glass windows fill the Cathedral of St. Mary with light. (Eve Hamilton/Cap City News)

The history of the Catholic Church in Cheyenne begins with the Union Pacific Railroad in 1867. At this time, Bishop O’Gorman of Omaha would send Father William Kelly to minister to the Catholics in the area. When Cheyenne became a permanent settlement, Father Kelly worked to acquire land for a church. The first Catholic Church would be built on the corner of 21st Street and O’Neil Avenue. This church was dedicated to St. John the Baptist in 1868.

The interior of the Cathedral of St. Mary in Cheyenne. (Eve Hamilton/Cap City News)

By 1873, however, the pastor at that time, Father John McGoldrich, realized that the church could not accommodate his growing congregation, and purchased two lots on the corner of Carey Avenue and 19th Street. Though he would never see a new church be built, this new brick church would be completed and dedicated to St. John the Baptist in May 1879.

This would remain the main Catholic parish in Cheyenne until November 1904, when the Diocese of Cheyenne purchased the land where the cathedral now sits on 21st Street and Capitol Avenue. The Cathedral of St. Mary was dedicated on Jan. 31, 1909.

The altar at the Cathedral of St. Mary. (Eve Hamilton/Cap City News)

The cathedral itself was built in an English Gothic style, with a tower on the southwest corner. The stone is sandstone mined from the quarry at Iron Mountain, 30 miles northwest of Cheyenne. The cathedral is 135 feet long and 70 feet wide, with a slightly slanted floor from back to front. The original altar was a traditional Latin High altar, which featured lofty spires and a depiction of the Last Supper. This altar remains in one of the side chapels to this day.

The cathedral has gone through several remodels over the year, beginning in 1982 and continuing throughout the 1990s. The organ in the back of the cathedral was dedicated in 1992.

The Visser-Rowland tracker organ at the Cathedral of St. Mary. (Eve Hamilton/Cap City News)

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