America’s Notre-Dame: The Cathedral of Covington

by William J. Turner, appearing in Volume 45

Visitors traveling through the Cincinnati area might well stop to see the Greek Revival Cathedral Basilica of Saint Peter in Chains. However, they may not realize that across the Ohio River, in the city of Covington, Kentucky, can be found the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption, a true architectural high Gothic jewel.

Initial construction of the mother church of the Diocese of Covington, fittingly referred to as “America’s Notre-Dame,” was completed in 1901. Measuring 194 feet long and 144 feet wide, the church is a re-creation of the great Parisian cathedral at forty-five percent of the original’s size. Gargoyles and chimeras look down upon passersby but do not shed water. Fifty-eight of these “grotesques,” exact copies of those created by Viollet-le-Duc for Notre- Dame de Paris in the nineteenth century, are being replaced in 2024.

Equally remarkable is the cathedral’s interior resemblance to the Basilica of Saint-Denis, and its columns can be likened to those found at Chartres Cathedral. Architect Leon Coquard, who also designed Sainte-Anne Basilica in Detroit while working in the office of Albert E. French, was commissioned by Covington’s third bishop, Camillus Maes, to create a new cathedral. Maes had come from Belgium as a missionary to Detroit before his episcopal appointment in 1884, and on his arrival in Covington found his first cathedral in a very poor state. The brickwork was falling apart, and the roof was leaking. He broke ground for a new building in 1894.

The seven-year project produced an eighty-one-foot floor-to-ceiling structure made from Bedford Indiana limestone with terra cotta capitals on the numerous columns and colonnettes. The seating initially welcomed 1,450 persons. Subsequent renovations have decreased the cathedral’s capacity to 900 seats. The façade was erected in 1908-10 but the towers and statuary were not completed. The French Gothic style is noted for its flying buttresses, and in this case, the structure required an intricate distribution of the supports, since the engineer’s report indicated a maximum load of 3,500 pounds per square foot. Buttresses were therefore placed at the points of thrust.

The cathedral first automated its bell with the Verdin Company of Cincinnati in 1934. This bell, cast by the E. W. Vanduzen Company in 1901, is made of bronze and weighs 1,800 pounds. In 2019, it received a bell controller with wireless remotes. The bell tower stands in the church’s northeast corner.

The cathedral has undergone several renovations. In one project begun in 1945, the Irving and Casson Company of Boston created a wood baldacchino and additional woodwork. Between 1997 and 2001, another significant renovation moved the sanctuary forward into the crossing, removed the altar rail, and placed transept pews on both sides. Meanwhile, cleaned to their original beauty, the stained-glass windows again permitted full natural light to enter the building. The most recent improvement to the façade added two tympanums over the side doors and twenty statues of the patron saints of Covington’s parishes and institutions designed by noted painter Neilson Carlin. A celebration on June 6, 2021, marked the project’s completion.

Interior

Upon entering the cathedral, one is struck by its uplifting nature. Gothic architecture raises one’s heart and mind to the spiritual realm. At the entrance, the visitor first notes the original baptismal font with green marble surfacing and an immersion pool. The font was formerly located in an alcove constructed in 1937 along the cathedral’s south side. In 2019, in honor of Bishop Maes’ wish to be buried in the cathedral, the late prelate’s coffin was exhumed from Saint Mary Cemetery in Fort Mitchell, Kentucky, and placed in a sarcophagus inside the former baptistry behind iron gates. A figure of the bishop lying in state rests upon the green and white marble of the sarcophagus, a monument reminiscent of many such episcopal burials found in the cathedrals of Europe.

The nave directs the eye forward, attracted by the stained glass above the sanctuary. The cathedral’s impressive stained-glass windows are the work of the studios of Franz Mayer of Munich. The great north transept window depicts the Council of Ephesus that defined Mary as Mother of God. It is the largest Mayer window in the world, at sixty-seven feet high and twenty-four feet wide. Two twenty-six-foot-diameter rose windows, reflecting the eyes of God, grace the south transept and the west gallery. The first represents Christ as the Alpha and the Omega, and the second presents the Papal tiara and keys and refers to the Church’s mission to teach, rule, and sanctify.

Inspired by these windows, Maurice Kelly, writing in Holy Name Journal, praised Covington’s “Cathedral of Glass, a new world architectural classic.” The paintings of turn-of-the-twentieth-century artist Frank Duveneck and the sculptures of Clement Barnhorn of Cincinnati add to the church’s artistic treasures. Duveneck’s paintings appear in the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament, twenty-six feet wide and forty-one feet deep, which extends beyond the south transept. The chapel’s pews were taken from the transept area during the late 1990s renovation. The tabernacle is especially impressive: topped by a spire, it is gold plated and decorated with semi-precious stones, a gift to Bishop Maes from the people of Ghent.

The cathedral’s colorful mosaic Stations of the Cross are of particularly high quality. Inspired by the paintings of Redemptorist Brother Max Schmalzl, each mosaic consists of thousands of pieces of glass, created by Antonio Castaman in Venice from 1916 to 1918.

The baldacchino of Appalachian oak carved by Irving and Casson has been in the sanctuary since 1949. The baldacchino includes a hanging crucifix with figures of Our Lady and Saint John and is crowned by a statue of the Virgin Mary of the Assumption, a noble appointment and focal point honoring the cathedral’s patroness. Linden and oak dominate the cathedral’s woodwork.

By 2001, the altar was moved from under the baldacchino to a raised platform at the center of the crossing. The marble appointments give dignity to its placement, which was intended to bring the altar closer to the congregation. Its goal is to give visual presence to the centrality of the Eucharistic sacrifice in the life of the Church.

The cathedra, or bishop’s chair, stands on the left side of the sanctuary, the symbol of a bishop’s teaching office and pastoral authority. Various cathedras have been used over the years, and the current one was manufactured in 2003 in Appalachian oak for the tenth Bishop of Covington, Roger Foys. It now displays the coat of arms of Bishop John Iffert.

On the right side of the sanctuary is the pulpit, or ambo. Created from Appalachian oak for the renovation of 1945-50, it presents an eagle upon which the Book of Gospels is laid, and six saints known for their gift of preaching.

Today the Saint Paul Relics Chapel stands behind the baldacchino, an impressive display designed by Father Jordan Hainsey, custos of relics, while he served as administrative assistant to the bishop. Visitors must enter the sanctuary to reach this shrine, which also serves as an altar. The collection is worth a visit, and a list of the relics assists the devotee.

The cathedral has two pipe organs which are used for liturgical ceremonies. The Wicks organ (1930) replaced the original Koehnken and Grimm organ in the south gallery. It was modified in 1982 by Aultz-Kersting Pipe Organ Co. of Cincinnati to twenty ranks of digital pipes. The former Matthias Schwab tracker organ (1859), which originally belonged to Saint Joseph Church in Covington, was placed in the west gallery in 1973. Together the organs number some 6,300 pipes.

Minor Basilica

Pope Pius XII raised the cathedral to the dignity of a minor basilica on December 8, 1953. It is said that Bishop William Mulloy had sent the Vatican details of the building and its historical importance to the faith in this growing area of America. Rome affirmed his assessment. The document officially changed the cathedral’s name from Saint Mary to the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption. Symbols that mark the nomination include the ombrellino, a large umbrella carried in processions to honor the Pope, should he visit, and the tintinnabulum, a bell on a pole rung “when the Pope is approaching.”

Presently, the “Restored in Christ” campaign is raising money to repair the cathedral basilica’s exterior. Marking the 170th anniversary of the diocese, the 130th anniversary of the cathedral’s inception, and the 70th anniversary of its being named a minor basilica, Bishop Iffert has initiated a goal of $6 million to restore the stone and masonry in 2024. Donors are encouraged that this work will “assure the cathedral’s structural safety, beauty and permanence for centuries to come.” That is a fitting hope which honors the vision of Bishop Maes, the architect Leon Coquard, and generations of faithful Catholics and visitors who have been edified in their faith by the cathedral of Covington.

Just as Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris is being restored to its original beauty after the tragic fire of April 15, 2019, so the restoration of “America’s Notre-Dame” promises to be faithful to the building’s original vision. While its gargoyles and chimeras could be said to recall sin and evil in the world, this architectural gem is more powerfully providing hope and encouragement as we journey toward eternity.