November 21, 1875 – Holy Name Cathedral at the corner of Superior and State
Streets is dedicated. William Ogden and
Walter Loomis Newberry donated the site on which the cathedral stands in 1846
and a small church was built in 1848. In
1853 a more impressive building was begun, but it was still unfinished when it
was consumed in the 1871 fire. The new
cathedral was begun in 1873 while the congregation worshipped at the corner of
Chicago Avenue and Cass Street. One
noteworthy aspect of the dedication pertains to the music chosen that was heralded
as something that would begin “a revolution in Catholic church-music in Chicago
. . . the first fair illustration in this city of the new school of music . . .
[to] prohibit operatic and dramatic music in the church . . . to assist,
instead of distracting, devotion.” The choir includes only 25 voices and the
orchestra only 25 instruments. The Rt.-Rev. P. J. Ryan, Coadjutor Bishop of St.
Louis, preaches the Dedication Day sermon before a congregation of 3,000
congregants.
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