Originally published October 7, 2020.
“St. Paul’s Cathedral is yours. I ask you to make full use of it.” -Bishop William Lawrence, October 1912
As the city of Boston and the Diocese of Massachusetts continued to grow in the early 20th century, the question was not if a cathedral would be built, but when and how. Early conversations about building a cathedral in Boston consisted of just that - building a cathedral. One idea was to build a Notre Dame-esque building on an island in the middle of the Charles. Another idea was to build a mini village of structures surrounding and supporting a new cathedral. The problem was that building a cathedral is no small or cheap undertaking. Harriet Sarah and Mary Sophia Walker, two sisters from Waltham, Mass. generously bequeathed the Diocese $1 million (possibly more) to build a bishop’s church in the diocese, and even that was not enough. The Diocese had to get creative, so they turned to St. Paul’s Church.
The congregation at St. Paul’s was dwindling as the city began to spread out, and Bishop William Lawrence saw the location of St. Paul’s as an embodiment of what a cathedral should stand for. St. Paul’s was located in the heart of Boston, steps from the Park Street station. The location of St. Paul’s allowed it to reach thousands of people each day, simply by being there. As Bishop Lawrence saw it in 1912The Cathedral Church of Saint Paul would be a House of Prayer for all people.
Thus, on October 6, 1912, Dr. Edmund Rousmaniere was installed as Dean of the Cathedral in the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts. The following day, a diocesan-wide service was held, and St. Paul’s Church was officially consecrated as the Cathedral Church of St. Paul’s. This consecration was no ordinary service - it was a spectacle. It quite literally stopped traffic as thousands of people gathered for this monumental occasion, full of symbolism. Prior to the service, the clergy robed at Park Street Church. As Frederick Palmer noted, the fact that a Congregational Church would allow Episcopal clergy to use its robing room was “widely recognized as a welcome sign of changed times.” Faculty and students from Episcopal Theological School process through Boston Common and across Tremont street, followed by clergy and the bishops of Rhode Island, Springfield, Maine, and Massachusetts. Traffic was stopped as thousands of onlookers and members of the congregation lined the processional route.
According to Palmer, the “impressiveness” continued after the procession entered St. Paul’s. Dean Rousmainere asked for prayers for the cathedral, for the diocese, and finally for the Church as a whole, evoking several minutes of silence from the entire congregation. In his sermon, Bishop Lawrence spoke proudly about the ideals and institutions of the Cathedral naming it to be a “church which aims to be that of the whole community” and a House of Prayer for all people.
While 108 years have passed, to this day the same words and ideals ring true for the Cathedral church of Saint Paul. The cathedral remains committed to being a House of Prayer for all people, welcoming the lost and lonely, and supporting the fellow parishes of the Diocese of Massachusetts.
Happy 108th birthday, Cathedral Church of St. Paul!