About Saint Mary’s Cathedral in Amarillo, Texas:
On March 17, 1903, the ground was broken for the first Catholic Church in Amarillo: Sacred Heart Catholic Church, and in the spring of 1916, the ground was broken for a new church to be built on two lots of land in downtown Amarillo. The property was originally St. Mary’s Academy, founded by the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word. Sacred Heart Cathedral purchased the property in 1944. A chapel from an Air Force base was moved to the property in 1947. St. Mary’s Parish was started at the property in 1959. A new church was built for the parish in 1981.
In the early morning hours of February 26, 2007, a lamp tipped over on a sofa in the mezzanine, igniting a three-alarm fire that completely destroyed the sanctuary. After the devastating fire, the decision was made to build a new structure.
The church community entrusted Conrad Schmitt Studios with the task of salvaging and restoring the historic stained glass that had managed to survive the fire. In addition to the restoration of those glass treasures, Conrad Schmitt Studios created additional new stained glass windows, expanding upon the restored panels to create larger expanses of glass and matching them seamlessly to look as if they had been created along side the originals.
The relics in the altar are from St. Thomas Aquinas, St. John Vianney and St. Pius X. The reliquary behind the Tabernacle contains 25 relics of beatified and canonized saints.
Two carved wood angels in the Adoration Chapel are from Sacred Heart’s side altars, and the altar in the daily Mass chapel is one of the side altars.
Original works of art include the tapestries from Taos, New Mexico and a baptismal pool made of copper by an artist from South Texas. The pipe organ has 1,200 pipes and trumpets valued at $900,000.
Today a dedication plaque with the words, “Be Not Afraid,” now greets members and visitors as they walk into the south entrance of the newly resurrected church.
Traveling to Saint Mary’s Cathedral in Amarillo, Texas:
Address: 1200 S. Washington | Amarillo, TX 79102
Phone: +1 (806) 376-7204 Fax: +1 (806) 376-7972
Click here for the official website of Saint Mary’s Cathedral in Amarillo, Texas