A void created by an arsonist nearly two decades ago is finally being filled.
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St. Bernard Catholic Church on Atwood Avenue has been approved to be the cathedral for the Diocese of Madison. The church building was constructed in 1927 and is in the midst of a major renovation scheduled for completion in 2025. The diocese has been without a cathedral since 2005, when St. Raphael in Madison's Downtown was destroyed by fire.
St. Raphael Cathedral, constructed from 1854 to 1862, was destroyed by arson in 2005. The site is now home to a park with a walking path and stone crosses to commemorate Christ's final hours.
The sanctuary of St. Bernard Catholic Church hosted a wedding in 2021. The space is now a construction zone but when completed in 2025 will feature new pews and two pre-World War I pipe organs.
From majestic cathedral to ashes: Madison's St. Raphael Cathedral through the years
1-Main Street_parade_Pres. Cleveland 1887
Oct. 7, 1887 Military parade on Main Street honoring President Grover Cleveland's visit to Madison. Soldiers of the University Battalion are marching on West Main Street on their way to meet the President. The parade route is decorated with flags and a patriotic archway. Also in the photograph is the Park Hotel, the Capitol Park, and the steeple of St. Raphael's Catholic Church.
1b-St. Raphael's Church in Madison
The stone St. Raphael's Church, left, was built from 1854 to 1863, with its spire added in 1881. It burned in 2005 and was demolished in 2008. This picture was made in 1905, with First Congregational and Grace Episcopal churches to the right of St. Raphael's and across West Washington Avenue, which leads to the state Capitol.
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St. Rafael Cathedral 1945. Photo:Catholic Herald -Madison
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Aerial photo of St. Raphael's Church Downtown in September 1962.
2-Full house at memorial Mass for JFK
Bishop Jerome J. Hastrich, auxiliary bishop of the Madison Catholic Diocese in 1963, presided at a memorial Mass for President John F. Kennedy on Nov. 25, 1963, at St. Raphael Cathedral in Madison. In his eulogy, the Rev. Howard Finnegan said Kennedy, who was Catholic, "put to shame religious and racial bigotry," primarily by an appeal to morality and idealism. "We can never survive if disagreement becomes rancor and bitterness which eat away at the fabric of democracy and provide the necessary culture for assassins," Finnegan warned.
3-Mass for JFK at St. Raphael Cathedral
A crowd of some 800 filled the seats and lined the aisles of St. Raphael Cathedral in Madison during a tribute to the late John F. Kennedy on the morning of Nov. 25, 1963. The homily, by the Rev. Howard Finnegan, was given before a symbolic empty coffin draped with a flag in the main aisle. The same requiem Mass was offered that day at every Catholic church in the diocese.
4-Ash Wednesday 1978
Bishop Cletus O'Donnell celebrates Ash Wednesday mass at St. Raphael Cathedral.
5-Ash Wednesday 1978
Bishop Cletus O'Donnell celebrates Ash Wednesday mass at St. Raphael Cathedral.
6-Ash Wednesday 1978
Ash Wednesday mass is celebrated at St. Raphael Cathedral.
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Thirty three bishops from 11states gather Sunday afternoon for mass at St. Raphael Cathedral to celebrate Bishop William Bullock's 50th anniversary as a priest. Photo by Michelle Stocker (Published 9-30-02) Thirty-three bishops and 168 priests from 11 states joined in celebrating a Mass Sunday afternoon at St. Raphael Cathedral, to celebrate Bishop William Bullock's 50th year in the priesthood. JUBILEE
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In this 2003, file photo, Bishop William H. Bullock (right) and Bishop Robert Morlino (left) enter St. Raphael's Cathedral as part of Morlino's Installation Service. Bullock died Sunday, April 3, 2011, at age 83.
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Catholic Bishop Robert Morlino reaches out to embrace the faithful at his installation at St. Raphael Cathedral on Aug. 1, 2003.
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Madeline McCall watches as the steeple of St. Raphael is hoisted Tuesday, November 30, 2004 in Madison, Wis. by Findorff Construction workers. Leah L. Jones - State Journal PUBLISHED CAPTION 12-1-04 Madeline McCall watches Tuesday as the steeple of St. Raphael Cathedral is hoisted into place by Findorff Construction workers. The new spire is the first step in a multimillion-dollar refurbishment of the 150-year-old cathedral, according to the Diocese of Madison. With the cross in place - the final step in the $1 million steeple project - the spire will reach a height of 104 feet. In addition to the steeple, four art-glass windows are being replaced, the bells are being refurbished, the clock is being restored and supporting stonework is being repaired.
10a-St. Raphael Cathedral fire
The 150-year-old St. Raphael Cathedral at 222 W. Main St. couldn't survive the arson fire of March 14, 2005. A man with history of mental problems was convicted of arson, and church officials promised to rebuild, eventually. The spire and steeple were saved, but the stone shell was demolished.
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St. Raphael Cathedral fire. photo by Mike DeVries (Published caption 3-14-05) A view from an airplane shows the massive fire damage to the roof of St. Raphael Cathedral. (second edition only)
10a3-FIRE REFLECTION
People in the Tommy G. Thompson Commerce Center, 201 W. Washington Ave. watch as fire destroys St. Raphael Cathedral, 222 W. Main Street in Madison, Wis., early Monday, March 14, 2005. The flames are shown reflected in the glass of the office building. Madison firefighters began to battle the blaze around 5:30 a.m. State Journal, Sarah B. Tews
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Monsignor Paul Swain of St. Raphael Cathedral looks over the charred remains of the the Cathedral from the Tommy G. Thompson building Monday, March 14, 2005 in Madison, Wis. Leah L. Jones - State Journal
10b-Morlino with firefighters
Bishop Robert Morlino, center, greets firefighters in the aftermath of the St. Raphael Cathedral fire on March 14, 2005. Monsignor Paul Swain is at right.
10c-St. Raphael gutted
St. Raphael Cathedral as it appeared shortly after a fire in March 2005 destroyed the church in Downtown Madison. In 2007, William Connell, 41, was sentenced to 15 years in prison for setting fire to the church.
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Part of the alter backdrop is visible amid the ruins at St. Raphael Cathedral in Madison, Wis. on Monday, March 14, 2005 in the aftermath of a spectacular fire there. Craig Schreiner -- State Journal PUBLISHED CAPTION 3-21-05 Part of the altar backdrop is visible amid the ruins of St. Raphael Cathedral in the aftermath of a fire last Monday. The church holds a special place for many area residents.
10c1-St. Raphael Cathedral
Although an arson fire gutted St. Raphael Cathedral in 2005, its soaring steeple endured.
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Paul Swain, who was rector of St. Raphael Cathedral, leads the parish during a Palm Sunday service in 2005 at St. Patrick's Church. During the service, he asked parishioners to forgive the man accused of starting a fire that destroyed their church the week before. Swain died last weekend at 79 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
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The east wall of St. Raphael Cathedral is nearly demolished on Friday, July 18, 2008 in Madison, Wis. The cathedral was gutted by fire in 2005 and is being demolished. Craig Schreiner -- State Journal
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St. Raphael's windows, from inside, Monday, March 28, 2005 in Madison, Wis. Joseph W. Jackson III - State Journal
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The lower part of the steeple, left, at St. Raphael Cathedral is seen here in 2008 just prior to the demolition of the church.
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The steeple and spire from the St. Raphael Cathedral are stored outside Reynolds Transfer & Storage Co. on East Washington Ave.
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Some of the crowd in attendance. On Sunday June 10, 2007, Bishop Robert Morlino announced that they build the new Catholic Cathedral on Madison on the site of the old burned out St. Raphael Cathedral on West Main Street in Madison. Steve Apps-State Journal. (PUBLISHED 6/11/07) The decision that St. Raphael Cathedral would be rebuilt at its Downtown site was met with applause, cheers and some tears of joy Sunday by a crowd of several hundred people that filled the church's parking lot to hear the decision.
11a-St. Raphael
This cross made from a copper shingle is one of the first pieces of art formed from the remnants of the St. Raphael Cathedral.
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Artist Jeremiah Logemann has stripped the frame of St. Raphael Cathedral's spire but also wants to use the steel in the frame for larger public or private pieces of art. The spire's frame remains in a lot along East Washington Avenue, where it was taken in 2008 just prior to the cathedral's demolition after a 2005 fire.
11c-St. Raphael
Logemann isn't sure what will be made from this bucket of copper fasteners salvaged from the spire that stood atop the steeple at St. Raphael Cathedral. He is taking ideas and is open to a variety of options.
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Jeremiah Logemann rummages through a storage locker Friday to show off some of the parts from the St. Raphael steeple that he plans to turn into pieces of art. St. Raphael in Downtown Madison was destroyed by fire in 2005. Since its demolition in 2008, the steeple has been kept in a lot along East Washington Avenue, but Logemann assumed ownership of the spire in June when the Madison Diocese was looking for a way to dispose of the 18-ton structure.
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Mark Landgraf, left, of Landgraf Construction, gives Monsignor Kevin Holmes a tour of the Stations of the Cross path under construction on the site of the arson-destroyed St. Raphael Cathedral in Downtown Madison.
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Workers install one of 14 stone crosses at the site of the former St. Raphael Cathedral, destroyed in an arson fire in 2005. A Stations of the Cross walking path is intended as an interim use of the site until a new cathedral can be built.
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Stone crosses appear on the site of the former St. Raphael Cathedral along West Main Street in Madison. A walking path commemorating Christ’s final hours is expected to be completed by mid-September.
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Site of the former St. Raphael Cathedral in Madison, Wis., seen Friday, March 14, 2014, is now a park featuring a stone walkway incorporating the 14 Stations of the Cross. John Hart -- State Journal
