Sacred Heart Cathedral (Davenport, Iowa)

Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Cathedral Complex
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Sacred Heart Cathedral
Location:	406 and 422 E. 10th St. and 419 E. 11th St., Davenport, Iowa
Coordinates:	41°31′49″N 90°34′8″W
Built:	1891
Architect:	Multiple
Architectural style:	Late 19th And 20th Century Revivals, Gothic Revival, Tudor Gothic Revival
Governing body:	Private
MPS:	Davenport MRA
NRHP Reference#:	84001537
Added to NRHP:	April 05, 1984

Sacred Heart Cathedral, Davenport, Iowa, United States, is the cathedral parish for the Catholic Diocese of Davenport. The cathedral is located on a bluff overlooking the Mississippi River to the east of Downtown Davenport. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Cathedral Complex. This designation includes the church building, rectory and the former convent. The cathedral is adjacent to the Cork Hill Historic District, also on NRHP. Its location on Cork Hill, a section of the city settled by Irish immigrants, gives the cathedral its nickname Cork Hill Cathedral.

St. Margaret’s Cathedral

St. Margaret's Cathedral with the grave of Antoine LeClaire in foreground

The parish traces its history back to 1856, when population growth in the city of Davenport led the Dubuque Diocese to decide to establish a new parish on top of the hill on the east side of Davenport. Antoine and Marguerite LeClaire donated the parcel of land and funds to build the church. Before this time parishioners attended St. Anthony's Church in downtown Davenport.

On June 29, 1856 Bishop Mathias Loras of Dubuque laid the cornerstone for the church. Antoine LeClaire directed the construction of the church, which was named St. Margaret (or sometimes listed as St. Marguerite) in honor of St. Margaret of Scotland and Marguerite LeClaire. The church was built of red brick in the Romanesque Revival style.

The Rev. Andrew Trevis was named the parish’s first pastor. In 1857 the Rev. Henry Cosgrove was assigned to St. Margaret’s after his ordination and became pastor in 1861. He was destined to spend the rest of his life associated with the parish.

During the American Civil War from 1861-1865 the Union Army established a headquarters in Davenport. There were five army camps in the city and four of them were within St. Margaret's parish boundaries. Undoubtedly, this affected the parish and the pastor's ministry.

The parish school was established in 1859 in a frame building that was first used as the parish rectory. This building was enlarged for more classroom space and living quarters for the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary who began teaching in the school in 1861. An addition was made to the church building in 1866 forming a wing on the left side of the original church structure. A new brick school building was built between 1870-71. The present school building was constructed in 1915.

On May 8, 1881 Pope Leo XIII established the Diocese of Davenport. The Very Rev. John McMullen, the vicar general of the Archdiocese of Chicago and rector of Holy Name Cathedral, was chosen as the first bishop, and he made St. Margaret's his cathedral parish. Father Cosgrove became the cathedral’s rector and the vicar general of the diocese.

In September 1882 Bishop McMullen established St. Ambrose Seminary and Academy, now known as St. Ambrose University, using two classrooms at St Margaret’s School. He assigned the Rev. A.J. Schulte, St. Margaret’s assistant pastor, as the school’s first president and instructor of the classics. St. Ambrose moved to its current location on Locust Street in 1885.

On July 11, 1884 Father Cosgrove was named by Pope Leo XIII to replace Bishop McMullen as Bishop of Davenport. He was the first of three rectors to be named a bishop.

Sacred Heart Cathedral

A new cathedral

Sacred Heart Cathedral from the southwest

A series of articles on the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Sacred Heart Immaculate Heart Alliance of Hearts Prayers & Feast Act of Consecration Prayer • Feast Scapular People John Eudes Margaret Alacoque Catherine Labouré Mary of Divine Heart Alexandrina da Costa Encyclicals Annum Sacrum Haurietis Aquas Churches Cathedrals • Churches

In 1889, Bishop Cosgrove decided that a new, larger church should be built. The initial planning was carried out by Father Trevis, who was once again assigned to St Margaret's after Cosgrove was named bishop. The assignment became too much for him however, and he was replaced by Father James Davis. James J. Egan, an architect from Chicago, was chosen to design the new cathedral. He also designed St. Ambrose Church in Des Moines at the same time. The plans called for a church built of Bedford stone, mined in Indiana. The Ecclesiological Society, which had a mission of preserving Gothic architecture, was an influence in the church design. The church was built on the English parish church model. Walsh & Edwards of Davenport were chosen to be the contractor. On April 27, 1890 the cornerstone for the new building was laid. The church was finished in 1891, and the building was dedicated on November 15, 1891.

The church features an open interior without columns and altars and pews built of wood. The reliefs below the old high altar depict the sacrifice of Able, Abraham and his son Isaac, and the priest Melchizadek. The statues of St. Peter and St. Paul were added later. Gold reliquaries that contain relics of various saints are in nooks on either side of the reredos. The shrine of the Blessed Virgin Mary on the left side of the church contains statues of St. Benedict on the left and St. Thomas Aquinas on the right that were added in 1902. At the base of the altar is a relief of the dormition of the Virgin. The St. Joseph shrine contains statues of St. Ignatius of Loyola on the left and St. Anthony of Padua on the right that were also added in 1902. At the base of the altar is a relief of Joseph on his death bed with Mary and Jesus at his side. Initially, the bishop's throne was placed in the archway on the left side of the sanctuary. The large stations of the cross are bas reliefs with wood frames that line the side walls of the church. The stained glass windows feature bright colors and the tall windows on the sides of the church depict the Twelve Apostles. The rose window on the front of the building includes the following Christian images: an anchor for hope, wheat for bread, a crown for Christ the King, keys for the Apostle Peter, a dove for the Holy Spirit, the cross and crown for the crucifixion, the chalice and bread for the Holy Eucharist, and a harp for music and worship. The large window over the altar depicts Jesus appearing to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, who spread the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

It was Father Trevis who suggested the parish's name change and Bishop Cosgrove requested permission from Pope Leo XIII to name the new church Sacred Heart Cathedral. Both Trevis and Cosgrove had a devotion to the Sacred Heart and Bishop Cosgrove had the image emblazoned on his coat of arms. The pope granted this permission on the grounds that a chapel dedicated to St. Margaret be maintained in the church. Sacred Heart Cathedral was the first cathedral to be dedicated to the Sacred Heart in the United States.

The current rectory was designed by Davenport architect Gustav Hanssen and it was completed in 1895. It was built of limestone and was designed to complement the cathedral’s gothic revival style. The convent was built of red brick and it was completed in 1902.

20th Century

Bishop Cosgrove's health started to fail in the early 1900s and he requested a coadjutor bishop. Once again the cathedral's rector was chosen to be a bishop. Bishop Davis was the first bishop consecrated in Sacred Heart Cathedral on November 30, 1904. He replaced Bishop Cosgrove upon the laters death two years later.

By the end of the first decade of the 20th century the parish's boundaries were set. In 1902 Our Lady of Lourdes was established in Gilbert, present day Bettendorf, and in 1909 St. Paul the Apostle was founded in Davenport. The parish's boundaries include some of the poorer sections of the central city as well as some of Davenport's older and wealthier neighborhoods. They also include seven historic districts listed on the National Register of Historic Places: Bridge Avenue, Cork Hill, East 14th Street, St. Katherine's, Village of East Davenport, Prospect Park, and McClellan Heights.

Lightning hit the building on August 20, 1928. The lightning sparked a fire between the slates of the roof and the ceiling. This caused extensive smoke and water damage to the church. Services were held in St. Margaret's Chapel during the repairs. The church was repainted in a gothic design. In order to hide the damage, the woodwork was stained a dark English Oak color.

The original pipe organ built in the cathedral had been moved from St. Margaret's Cathedral. It had been donated by Antoiine LeClaire. In 1950 a new Kilgen pipe organ was installed for $27,000.

In the 1960s and 70s, the parish implemented a number of changes, which were in line with the reforms of the Second Vatican Council. This included setting up a new altar that allowed the priest to face the congregation, and the communion rail and the pulpit were removed. A new cathedra, or bishop's chair, was placed against the reredos so that he would face the congregation. The liturgies were celebrated in English instead of Latin.

Social Ministry has been a hallmark of the cathedral parish since the pastorate of Msgr. Sebastian Menke. El Centro Cultural Hispano was founded in 1975 to serve the needs of Spanish-speaking people throughout the Quad City area. Masses in Spanish were celebrated at the cathedral starting in 1977. The Latino community eventually relocated to St. Joseph's Church in Davenport. A clothing center that provides free clothes to those in need was established in the cathedral basement, and later a community food pantry was started by the parish. Sacred Heart was one of the founding churches of Quad Cities Interfaith. It also started Interfaith Housing, a non-profit corporation to rehab old and rundown houses in the inner city neighborhood.

During the pastorate of Msgr. Marvin Mottet in the 1990s the parish school merged with St. Alphonsus School in the west end for several years and formed John Paul Academy. Both parishes then continued to sponsor their own schools until 2004 when it was no longer feasible to operate separate schools. Once again the parishes joined together and with Holy Family School in central Davenport to form All Saints School. The former Holy Family School building is used by the school. Parish based religious education classes continue to be held in the Sacred Heart School building.

Extensive renovations were done to the cathedral in the early 1990s. These renovations were made possible through the result of generosity of a member of the parish who included the parish in her will. This included replacing the roof and repainting the interior of the church. The old Kilgen pipe organ was removed, and replaced with a new Noack pipe organ, opus 119. A painting of St. Margaret of Scotland that hung in St Margaret's Chapel was repaired and hung in the cathedral. The painting dates to 1873 and is the work of I. Schmitt. It was originally hung in the high altar of the old cathedral. The painting was severely damaged when it was removed from the old church. It was restored in 1990 at the Intermuseum Laboratory in Oberlin, Ohio.

In recent years liturgies celebrated in Vietnamese were added to accommodate the areas growing Vietnamese Community.

21st Century

On May 26, 2011 Pope Benedict XVI named Msgr. Robert Gruss as the Bishop of Rapid City. He had served as the cathedral's rector and the parish pastor since 2010. He was the third rector/pastor to be named a bishop.

Pastors/Rectors

Sacred Heart Rectory

The following priests have served both St. Margaret's and Sacred Heart as its pastor. Since 1881 they have also served as cathedral rector:

• Rev. Andrew Trevis (1856–1861)
• Rev. Henry Cosgrove (1861–1884)
• Rev. Andrew Trevis (1884–1889)
• Rev. James Davis (1889–1906)
• Rev. John Flannagan (1907–1926)
• Msgr. Francis Leonard (1926–1932)
• Msgr. William Shannahan (1932–1937)
• Msgr. Martin Cone (1937–1953)
• Msgr. Thomas Feeney (1953–1968)
• Msgr. Ralph Thompson (1968–1971)
• Msgr. Sebastian Menke (1973–1986)
• Msgr. Marvin Mottet (1986–2005)
• Rev. Robert Busher (2005–2010)
• Msgr. Robert Gruss (2010–2011)
• Rev. Richard Adam (2011–Present)

External links

• Sacred Heart Cathedral's Web Site
• Diocese Web Site
• St. Ambrose University Web Site
• Archiplanet Listing