Cathedral of Mary Our Queen

The Cathedral of Mary Our Queen is a cathedral of the Roman Catholic Church located at 5200 North Charles Street, in northern Baltimore, Maryland.

The Cathedral is the seat of the Archbishop of Baltimore, presently is Sede vacante. The Cathedral is located in the Homeland area of northern Baltimore City and near Loyola University Maryland and St. Mary's Seminary and University, the first Catholic seminary created in the United States. It was built using funds bequeathed by an Irish Baltimore merchant, Thomas O'Neill.

In October 1954, ground was broken for the new Cathedral of Mary Our Queen. On the morning of October 13, 1959, a few days past the fifth anniversary of the groundbreaking ceremony, the Cathedral was consecrated by Bishop Jerome Sebastian. The architecture is late period Art Deco, built of brick faced with limestone, and uses a classical east-facing cruciform floor plan (see cathedral diagram).

Reverend Monsignor J. Bruce Jarboe is Rector. The Archdiocese of Baltimore is the Primatial see. The crypt under the main floor of the cathedral is reserved for the deceased archbishops and auxiliary bishops of Baltimore. There are six bishops buried in the crypt: Cardinal Lawrence Shehan, Archbishop Francis Patrick Keough, Bishop Jerome Sebastian, Bishop T. Austin Murphy, Bishop P. Francis Murphy and Archbishop William Donald Borders.^{[citation needed]}

A cellphone antenna is concealed within the tower, generating revenue for the diocese. According to the data of Archdiocese of Baltimore the cathedral is astounding in its size. Built to seat 1,900 people, the cathedral is 373 feet (113 meters) long, 132 feet (40 meters) wide and 163 feet (49 meters) to the top of the two spires.

Cathedral of Mary Our Queen viewed from the south

The co-cathedral is the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, on Cathedral Street at Mulberry Street, in downtown Baltimore. The Basilica reopened in November 2006 after a 32-month restoration.

His Holiness Pope John Paul II visited both the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen and the Basilica in 1995 and in 1976 as Cardinal Karol Wojtyla. A plaque outside the Blessed Sacrament Chapel (the north transept) commemorates the 1995 visit.

Organs

The cathedral is notable for having two organs. The original organs were installed by M. P. Moller Company of Hagerstown, Maryland (Opus 9200). After 46 years of use and some considerable damage due to water and smoke it was decided that the cathedral organs would be restored. Schantz Organ Company of Ohio was chosen to restore and replace many parts of the original instrument. The restoration started with the removal of the Great Gallery organ and, after it was reinstalled and ready to be played, the Chancel organ was then removed and restored. On Sunday, November 12, the Cathedral used the restored organs.

In addition to new pipe work, voice work, new wind chests, two new identical consoles were built: one for the Gallery and one for the Chancel. This allows the organist to have command of both organs from either console. The chancel console has the ability to be moved around the sanctuary depending on the need. (In the original Moller installation, the Great Gallery organ console was four manuals and had complete control over both the Gallery and Sanctuary organs. The Sanctuary organ console was two manuals, had complete control over the Sanctuary organ and the Gallery organ through "blind" controls. The Sanctuary console was replaced in 1974 due to a fire in the console which caused smoke damage to both organs' pipework.)

The first solo concert performance on the new organ was on July 5, 2007 and was played by Cherry Rhodes as part of the closing ceremonies of the American Guild of Organists convention that was held in Baltimore.^{[citation needed]}

External links

• Cathedral of Mary Our Queen
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• Cathedral of Mary Our Queen on Google Street View