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History |
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The design of the
Cathedral of St. Jude the Apostle comes from the
Byzantine period of the Eastern Roman Empire.
The plan of the cathedral is based on, a Latin
Cross. The principal sections focus on a
circular sanctuary on a surface that is elevated
seven steps above the main floor. A dome, which
rises sixty-two feet above the sanctuary, is
pierced with stained glass windows that cast
light on the altar below. On the exterior of the
cathedral, the dome is covered with gold colored
aluminum. Rising twenty-five feet above the dome
is a finial and cross, golden in hue, which
reflects the rays of the sun. The building was
dedicated as a parish church on June 2, 1963,
during the pastorate of Monsignor James J.
Meehan, under the administration of Archbishop
Joseph P. Hurley, Sixth Bishop of the Diocese of
St. Augustine. It became a cathedral upon the
installation of the First Bishop of St.
Petersburg, Bishop Charles B. McLaughlin, June
17, 1968.
Sometimes cathedrals are made, not born. What is
now the Cathedral of St. Jude the Apostle was
founded in 1950 as St. Jude the Apostle Church,
a parish of the Diocese of St. Augustine. When
the Diocese of St. Petersburg was formed in
1968, founding Bishop Charles B. McLaughlin
decided that the 1,500-seat capacity and
location of St. Jude Church in St. Petersburg
made it a good "mother church" for the diocese.
On June 17, 1950 Bishop McLaughlin was installed
as the first bishop of St. Petersburg in a
liturgy also establishing the Canonical Erection
of the new diocese and St. Jude the Apostle
Church as its cathedral. Bishop W. Thomas Larkin
was installed there as the diocese's second
bishop in 1979. Bishop John C. Favalora was
installed as its third bishop in 1989, and
Monsignor Robert N. Lynch was ordained as bishop
and installed as the fourth bishop of the
Diocese of St. Petersburg Diocese on Jan. 26,
1996.
The bishop of a diocese is also pastor of its
cathedral, which holds his chair, or cathedra.
Therefore, Bishop Lynch is pastor of the
Cathedral of St. Jude the Apostle, but the
responsibilities of overseeing a five-county
diocese make the daily management of a parish
difficult. As rector of the Cathedral of St.
Jude the Apostle, the Very Reverend Gregg J.
Tottle oversees the pastoral responsibilities
for the bishop.
St. Jude Parish was founded Dec. 12, 1950, with
about 800 registered households. Father Paul Leo
Manning, the founding pastor, offered the first
Mass Feb. 11, 1951 in the garage of Admiral
Farragut Academy at Ninth Avenue North and Park
Street. What is now the Cathedral of St. Jude
the Apostle was dedicated on June 2, 1963, and
is now home to about 2,300 registered
households.
Two months later, April 4, 1951, Father Manning
broke ground for a
church auditorium on 10 acres of land between
Fifth and Seventh Avenues North, which had been
purchased for $25,000. The new building was
dedicated the following October, and in January
1952, the parishioners began a $100,000
fund-raising campaign for a school. Located
 several hundred feet north of the cathedral, St.
Jude Cathedral School was opened Sept. 7, 1954,
and has steadily grown to include an Early
Childhood Center and a K-8th grade elementary
school.
Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto was dedicated on the
parish grounds in 1965, and the parish center,
Oct. 28, 1982. The following year the parish
administration building was built adjacent to
the Cathedral Center. On Dec. 10, 1984 the first
Mass was offered in Our Lady's Chapel, located
on the east end of the Cathedral
Center/administration building complex.
The cathedral became home to the largest
pipe/electronic organ in Florida at the time it
was installed. This $300,000 Rodgers/Ruffatti
outfit has enabled the music department of the
Cathedral of St. Jude the Apostle to host
ongoing concerts.
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