Cathedral of Saint Peter (Kansas City, Kansas)

The Cathedral of Saint Peter at 409 N. 15th Street in Kansas City, Kansas is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas. The parish was founded in 1907; the present Gothic Revival church of Carthage stone, 145 feet high, was dedicated September 5, 1927, and consecrated as a cathedral in 1948 after Pope Pius XII suppressed the Diocese of Leavenworth and erected the Diocese of Kansas City in Kansas (May 10, 1947). The see became an archdiocese in August 1952.¹

Overview

Address	409 N. 15th Street, Kansas City, Kansas1
Parish founded	October 1907 (first Mass December 1907)1
First church dedicated	September 7, 19081
Present church	Built 1925–27; first Mass August 1, 1927; dedicated September 5, 19271
Style / height	Gothic Revival; 145 ft; Carthage stone1
Cathedral from	1948 (Bishop George Donnelly)1
Website	http://www.cathedralkck.org/

History

In October 1907 Bishop Thomas Lillis of the then Diocese of Leavenworth appointed Rev. Bernard Kelly to found St. Peter’s Parish in downtown Kansas City, Kansas. Kelly said the first Mass at the bishop’s residence on Sandusky Avenue in December 1907, laid a cornerstone March 14, 1908, and dedicated St. Peter Church September 7, 1908. The school opened with 95 elementary and 10 high-school students. A rectory followed in 1917.¹

Growth forced a new church beginning in 1925. The present building’s first Mass was August 1, 1927; dedication September 5, 1927. School enrollment had reached 350 by 1937.¹

On May 10, 1947, Pius XII suppressed Leavenworth and erected the Diocese of Kansas City in Kansas. Bishop George Donnelly — namesake of donnelly-college — consecrated St. Peter’s as cathedral in 1948. Twelve gold crosses representing the apostles were placed between the Stations of the Cross. A fire destroyed the school that same year; a replacement opened in 1955. Pius XII elevated the diocese to an archdiocese in August 1952. A parish center was built in 1992; the cathedral interior was renovated in 1998.¹

By 2006 St. Peter’s School enrolled 110. In 2007 the archdiocese consolidated eastern Wyandotte County parochial schools as Resurrection Catholic School, using the St. Peter’s building. The parish marked its centennial that year with a St. Joseph the Worker statue and a time capsule to be opened in 2057.¹

Sources

See also

• bishop-ward-high-school
• donnelly-college
• kansas-city-kansas
• Wiki

Footnotes

1. Wikipedia — “Cathedral of Saint Peter (Kansas City, Kansas).” — asserts: 409 N. 15th St.; seat of the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas; parish founded Oct 1907 by Rev. Bernard Kelly under Bishop Thomas Lillis; first Mass Dec 1907; cornerstone Mar 14 1908; first church dedicated Sep 7 1908; school 95 + 10; rectory 1917; new church 1925–27, first Mass Aug 1 1927, dedicated Sep 5 1927; Gothic Revival, 145 ft, Carthage stone; school 350 by 1937; Diocese of Kansas City in Kansas erected May 10 1947; cathedral 1948 under Bishop George Donnelly; school fire 1948; new school 1955; archdiocese Aug 1952; parish center 1992; interior renovation 1998; 110 students 2006; Resurrection Catholic School 2007; centennial courtyard 2007. First-party history: cathedralkck.org (archived web.archive.org) ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹