Clancy & Theys and the Diocese of Raleigh Anticipate Dedication of the Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral
July 21, 2017
News & Observer
In the article “What is under Raleigh’s big Copper Dome? You Can See on Wednesday; here’s a preview,” The News & Observer’s Richard Stradling reveals some aesthetic details of the much-anticipated Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral. Clancy & Theys is the general contractor for the impressive, multi-year project, inclusive of a 162-ton copper dome rising 171 feet.
As an influx of Catholics has swelled congregations and spawned new parishes throughout Eastern North Carolina in the last several decades, the Diocese of Raleigh has maintained its cathedral in Sacred Heart Cathedral, a former parish church downtown that can seat only about 300 people. On a hilltop two miles west of downtown Raleigh, the new church will seat 2,000 parishioners, rivaling cathedrals in Philadelphia and Baltimore.
The cathedral’s bell tower houses 50 bells, which will be heard by the public for the first time this week. There will be 95 stained-glass windows in the cathedral, 45 of them restored from Philadelphia’s Ascension of Our Lord Catholic Church, which closed in 2012. The sanctuary is constructed of Tuscan marble and includes a marble chair for the bishop, which is what makes Holy Name of Jesus a cathedral and not just a grand church.
Wednesday’s ceremony will draw Catholic dignitaries from around the state and beyond, as the diocese goes from having the smallest cathedral in the continental United States to one surpassed in size only by those in San Francisco, Newark, New York and Los Angeles. The dedication will be the church’s chance to throw open the doors to the finished cathedral for the first time.
The dedication of Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral will begin at 2 p.m. Wednesday. Tickets for the event are all taken, but it will be broadcast live on the diocese YouTube channel, https://www.youtube.com/user/DioceseofRaleigh.
Read the full article here.
