Birmingham, Alabama, will celebrate the 150th anniversary of its city charter on December 19 and its oldest religious congregations will all celebrate their 150th anniversary next year. Among these is the Roman Catholic Cathedral of St. Paul. Its current building was begun in 1890 and completed in 1893, making it the fourth oldest church building in central Birmingham (after First Presbyterian, Cathedral Church of the Advent, and First United Methodist). Initially a parish church, when the Diocese of Birmingham was created in 1969, it became its cathedral.
Later this month I publish an essay on the cathedral and its musical life written by Samford University Students on Magic City Religion. Look for it there. Last year, we published an essay on its Good Shepherd window dedicated to its first priest.
The building is on the National Register of Historic Places. You can read much more about its architecture and history there.
Click on the photos below to expand them.
Exterior, .January 2019 
Exterior, October 2016 
Sacred Heart above main door, September 2016. 
Cornerstone of St. Paul’s Cathedral (photo 2021)
Read this first post for more on this series on Birmingham churches and their cornerstones.
Chasing Churches 
Cathedral of St. Paul, Birmingham (Birmingham Churches and their Cornerstones 7)
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[…] Roman Catholic Church organized within the bounds of nineteenth-century Birmingham. The first was St. Paul’s, which is located in the heart of the city on the north side of the railroad tracks. Our Lady of […]
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