Dec. 8, 2025, marks the 150th anniversary of the dedication of the Cathedral of the Holy Cross, the Mother Church of the Archdiocese of Boston. For a century and a half, the faithful of this archdiocese have crossed the threshold of the cathedral to worship together, to celebrate joyful occasions, to lean on each other in moments of sorrow, and to be united in mission.

To commemorate this anniversary, I invite you now on a brief tour of the cathedral in just five stops. Each stop highlights a feature that tells a story of architecture, artistry, and of the faith that shaped and sustained our community from its earliest days. Taken together, they remind us that our cathedral is a witness to the hopes, sacrifices, and devotion of generations of believers, a place where we continually return to pray and to be renewed.

I hope this tour will inspire you to learn more about the history of the Cathedral of the Holy Cross and, if you can, to visit in person.



The cathedra

When most people enter the Cathedral of the Holy Cross, their instinct is to look up. They take in the scale, the soaring arches, the beauty of the stained glass over the altar, the gilded ceiling of the chancel, adorned with paintings of angels representing Faith, Hope, Charity, Temperance and Fortitude. Few look first at the chair.

Tucked against the wall on the left side of the sanctuary is the throne of the archbishop, the "cathedra" -- the very chair that makes the building not a church but a cathedral. Definitionally, a cathedral is not a diocese's prettiest church, or its largest church, or its oldest church. It is the church that holds the seat of the bishop, the symbolic heart of his teaching authority.

The cathedra from which Archbishop Henning now presides is not the same one that was used by Archbishop John J. Williams 150 years ago, at the time of the cathedral's dedication. In fact, the chair in use today is at least the third iteration of the cathedra in this building.

The original cathedra was designed by the building's architect, Patrick C. Keely, who specified that it must be of "the very best well seasoned black walnut, free from all imperfections." It was manufactured by John Welch Co. of Lowell, who also designed the building's original confessionals. Keely's cathedra was similar in profile to the one in use today but was capped by a lacy Gothic pinnacle rather than a canopy. The design of the chair was in aesthetic harmony with the rest of the sanctuary, throughout which there are several pointed Gothic features, most notably the pinnacle crowning the high altar.

Patrick Keely's cathedra was replaced just after Boston's Archbishop William H. O'Connell was elevated to the cardinalate by Pope Pius X in November 1911. On his return home from Rome in early 1912, O'Connell brought with him "a large chair especially designed for use on the throne that has been erected in the Cathedral." O'Connell's cathedra was meant to visually impress upon its viewers that Boston's archbishop was now a Prince of the Church; the gilded, ornate chair was placed upon a specially erected raised platform under a broad canopy. For the first time, the cardinal's coat of arms appeared over his cathedra -- a tradition that continues in the Cathedral of the Holy Cross until today.

While impressive, Cardinal O'Connell's cathedra threw the sanctuary out of balance. The platform that supported it was so large that it partially obscured the side altar dedicated to St. Joseph. The Baroque/Rococo chair clashed with the surrounding Gothic revival architecture. As a result, the throne was dispensed with between 1923 and 1924, when the canopied wooden cathedra that is still in use today was designed and installed by the Boston architectural firm Maginnis and Walsh. It now bears the coat of arms of Archbishop Richard G. Henning, and his episcopal motto from Luke 5:4, "Put Out Into the Deep."



The organ

Built by the prestigious firm of E. and G.G. Hook and Hastings -- at the time the preeminent builder of organs in the country -- and called "Opus 801," the 5,292 pipe organ in the Cathedral of the Holy Cross is one of the finest and most historic instruments in all of New England.

Unlike mass-produced instruments, pipe organs are unique, built to fit the space in which they are installed. The cathedral's organ was inspired by the lofty nave and the fine acoustical setting so rare in 19th-century America and constructed at the culmination of the American organ aesthetic of the Romantic Period. Its reeds, or tongued pipes, were made in France. The musical character of the instrument can be attributed chiefly to Moritz Baumgarten Jr., the renowned head voicer at Hook and Hastings, who meticulously adjusted each of the organ's individual pipes to control their volume, timbre, and "speech" (how quickly they sound).

Though not completed in time for the building's dedication on Dec. 8, 1875, parts of the organ were in place and did serve as an accompaniment to the Boston Catholic Choral Society, who sang at the dedication Mass. Only a few months later, on Feb. 23, 1876, the organ itself was dedicated by four of Boston's leading organists.

Over the past four decades, the historic Hook and Hastings Organ has undergone extensive restoration, owing especially to the diligent stewardship of Leo Abbott, music director from 1986-2018. Today, music director Richard Clark carries on that legacy so that this beautiful instrument can continue to lift hearts to God. Remarkably, the organ's historical character remains nearly intact: more than 99 percent of the pipes are original to the instrument, with only about 40 having been replaced in 150 years.

Those who have the privilege of hearing the organ today benefit from the improved acoustics brought about by the cathedral's 2017-2019 renovations, in which the carpet and wood flooring of the upper church were replaced with marble. The new flooring allows the sound to reverberate for longer and the music takes on a richer, more majestic quality.

Visitors to the cathedral will note the presence of a second, much smaller, organ in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel, located in the northeast corner of the building. This, too, is a Hook and Hastings organ, though it is not original to the building. Built in Boston in 1881 and called "Opus 1047," the tracker-action pipe organ came to the cathedral during the 1994-1995 Blessed Sacrament Chapel renovations. Prior to the renovations, the small organ had been located in Texas in a state of disrepair. It was fully restored and expanded to serve as a fitting complement to the main church's organ and can be considered a "little sister" or cousin to its grander counterpart.



Relic of the True Cross

In the Blessed Sacrament Chapel, located in the northeast corner of the Cathedral, there hangs on the wall a large crucifix just to the right of the altar. From a distance, it appears an ordinary crucifix that might be displayed in any Catholic church. As one gets closer, a small circular opening at the base of the crucifix becomes visible. Into this opening is inserted a relic of the True Cross -- a splinter of wood believed to be from the very cross on which Jesus died -- and it is from this relic that the cathedral received its name.

The relic of the True Cross on display in Blessed Sacrament Chapel has been venerated by Boston's Catholics for nearly 250 years. The relic was brought to Boston by Abbe Claude de la Poterie, the French Naval chaplain who celebrated the city's first public Mass on Nov. 2, 1788. The first Catholic Church in New England, a leased building on School Street that had formerly been a Huguenot Meetinghouse, was named the Church of the Holy Cross in honor of the relic. Secured in a mahogany and brass box, the relic was displayed prominently in this church, as it was in the second church to bear the name, the Church of the Holy Cross on Franklin Street, which was built in 1803 and became a cathedral upon the establishment of the Diocese of Boston in 1808.

Since the dedication of the Cathedral in 1875, the relic has been displayed in many different areas of the building. Under Cardinal William H. O'Connell, the relic was placed in the rear of the church, where each procession entering the building would pass it. During Cardinal Richard J. Cushing's episcopate, it had its own shrine, complete with an altar and a small bench for prayer. Its present location in Blessed Sacrament Chapel, however, is fitting: this is the oldest section of the building, completed in 1870 and dedicated in a private Mass by Archbishop Williams. It is a place where daily Mass is celebrated, and where parishioners come for private and community prayer. And it is a place where the relic can draw notice and reverent attention, instead of being visually drowned out by ornate Gothic surroundings.



The central windows

While working on a project for the 150th anniversary of the cathedral, members of the Archives staff recently had the opportunity to ask Archbishop Richard G. Henning if there were any architectural features of the building to which he felt the most drawn. "The windows above the high altar move me most of all," he replied, "They're a little bit more abstract, and yet there's just something intensely beautiful about them."

The archbishop's admiration of the windows must be unsurprising to anyone who has had the happy occasion to see them in person. The five central windows of the cathedral are splendid works of art. At certain times of day, they seem to sparkle with blue-tinted light, and they draw the eye immediately to the sanctuary, underscoring its position as a sacred space. And yet, we know less about these windows than almost any others in the cathedral building.

The windows that are currently in place are not original to the building. The three central windows were originally figurative windows depicting, from left to right, the Nativity, the Crucifixion, and the Resurrection of Jesus. The central window was in memory of Bishop John B. Fitzpatrick, who had set into motion the events that led to the construction of the new cathedral but who died before ground was broken for the project. The left window, the Nativity, was donated by Father A. Sherwood Healy, who was an eminent theologian in his day and who was rector of the cathedral in the years leading up to its dedication, overseeing much of the building's fundraising and construction efforts. The right window, the Resurrection, was donated by Father Patrick Lyndon, the first rector to serve in the present building, and who is buried in its crypt. The additional two side windows were also intended to be figurative, depicting the Annunciation and the Ascension, but these were never added. Instead, two decorative panels, not unlike the windows currently in place in the chancel, were included in these slots.

It is unclear when, exactly, the old windows were removed and the new ones inserted. Based on photographs, it was sometime between 1951-1958, most likely during a 1956 renovation directed by Archbishop Richard J. Cushing. What happened to the original windows -- and why they were removed -- remains mystery. Some historical accounts note that visitors to the cathedral found them too dark, casting a moody shadow over the sanctuary. It is possible that the windows sustained damage from weather over the years, exposed as they would have been to high winds, including from New England's particularly intense nor'easters.



Pope John Paul II chair

In the back of the cathedral, the southwest corner of the building, a wooden, velvet-cushioned chair stands in memory of the visit of St. Pope John Paul II to the Cathedral of the Holy Cross.

The saint visited the cathedral on Oct. 1, 1979, the first day of his historic apostolic journey to the United States of America. Many Bostonians will recall that date because he also celebrated Mass on a rainy Boston Common before an assembled crowd of 400,000. But just before he went to the Common, he held a prayer service in the cathedral for the clergy of the Archdiocese of Boston. Standing just in front of the chair that remains in the cathedral in his honor, he said in his opening remarks, "In your cathedral church, I am happy to renew to you the expression of my deep esteem and friendship ... To all I want to say how happy I am to be in your midst. I pray for each one of you, asking you to remain always united with Jesus Christ and his church."

St. Pope John Paul II is the only Pope who has visited New England during his pontificate. He was no stranger to Boston, having visited twice as a cardinal, in 1969 and 1976. The chair in the cathedral reminds all who come across it of the special ties between the city and the saint, who, we may hope, continues to pray for each of us as he did in our midst in 1979.