America's First Cathedral

MD, November 21, 2009: In 1806, John Carroll, the first Roman Catholic bishop in the United States, laid the cornerstone for the country's first cathedral, The Cathedral of the Assumption. The cathedral was designed by Benjamin Henry Latrobe, who designed the United States Capital. The design of the dome was suggested by Thomas Jefferson. The cathedral is the mother church of American Catholicism, hosting seven provincial councils at a time when the Diocese of was co-extensive with the United States and three plenary councils. The Third Council promulgated the Baltimore Catechism. It was the largest church council held outside of Rome since the Council of Trent.

The late Pope John Paul II and the Eye of God:












The Holy Spirit in the form of a dove hovers over the inside of the dome:
Monument to John Carroll and his successor bishops (left); monument to James Cardinal Gibbons (right), the face of American Catholicism between the Civil War and the Jazz Age:















A painting of the Madonna and Child, a gift by Napoleon's uncle (left); and a side altar to James, the brother of Jesus:















The sacristy:
Tabernacle doors: the Sacred Heart (left) and the Lamb of God (right) with the Hebrew Name of God:














In the crypt, the grave of John Carroll and other bishops of Baltimore:









Except for the crypt where the bishops were buried, the undercroft of the cathedral had been filled with sand. In the recent renovation, the sand was removed and a chapel, several exhibition areas and restrooms were installed.
One accesses the cathedral museum via the crypt:










The Santo Niño and Our Lady of Guadalupe: