Cathedral of Saint Paul (Birmingham, Alabama)

The Cathedral of Saint Paul — informally known as Saint Paul's Cathedral — is the mother church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Birmingham in Alabama in Birmingham, Alabama. Designed by Chicago architect Adolphus Druiding, the Victorian Gothic-style brick building was completed as a parish church in 1893.[3] The parish it serves was established in 1872 and the cornerstone bears both dates.[4] It was elevated to cathedral status with the creation of the Diocese of Birmingham in 1969.

Cathedral interior

Cathedral of Saint Paul
33°31′4.05″N 86°48′16.54″W
Location	2120 Third Avenue North Birmingham, Alabama
Country	United States
Denomination	Roman Catholic Church
Website	www.stpaulsbhm.org
Architecture
Architect(s)	Adolphus Druiding
Style	Neo-Gothic
Completed	1893
Construction cost	$90,000[1]
Specifications
Number of spires	Two
Materials	Brick
Administration
Diocese	Diocese of Birmingham in Alabama
Clergy
Bishop(s)	Steven J. Raica
Rector	Very Rev. Bryan W. Jerabek
St. Paul's Catholic Church
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Area	1.4 acres (0.57 ha)
NRHP reference No.	82001607[2]
Added to NRHP	December 27, 1982

During its days as a parish, its most famous pastor was Father James Coyle. There is the aspiration of relocating his remains from Elmwood Cemetery to the cathedral as the cause for his beatification as a martyr advances.[5]

The contractor that had to be talked into moving to Birmingham to build the project was Lawrence Scully. Just prior to its completion, Lawrence Scully was killed when his horse-drawn carriage was spooked by a passing motor vehicle that honked its horn. The horse reared and flipped the carriage over, killing Lawrence Scully. Lawrence Scully also built one of Birmingham's first public schools, the Powell School.

Two buildings, the church and associated school, were listed on the National Register of Historic Places as St. Paul's Catholic Church in 1982.[2]

The stained-glass windows in the cathedral's aisles are the work of G. C. Riordan & Company of Cincinnati. They were in place when the church was first used.[6] The large window of St. Paul over the entrance was installed in 1972, replacing an older window that had been damaged in a storm.[7]

In 2022, the cathedral dedicated a new pipe organ in the choir gallery in front of the St. Paul window. While the previous organ complete obscured the window, the top of the window is visible over the new organ, the Anna Catharine Grace Memorial Pipe Organ, Noak Organ Co., opus 164.[8][9]