St. Michael's Cathedral (Springfield, Massachusetts)

Historic church in Massachusetts, United States

St. Michael's Cathedral is the mother church of the Diocese of Springfield in Massachusetts, United States, established in 1847. In 1974 the church and rectory were included as contributing properties in the Quadrangle–Mattoon Street Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The parish was established in 1847 as the church of St. Benedict after years of local Catholics fighting Protestant opposition to establish a parish. The congregation purchased a former Baptist church which served as its first home. For the first five years, it had no pastor when the Rev. Michael P. Gallagher was assigned to serve the parish. Gallagher began construction of the current sanctuary on State Street in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1860, and completed in 1861, based on plans from noted Brooklyn architect Patrick Keely. In recognition of Fr. Gallagher's work, the parish changed its name to St. Michael at this time. Fr. Gallagher died in 1869 and is buried at the church entrance. When Pope Pius IX established the present Diocese of Springfield in Massachusetts in 1870, St. Michael's church became its cathedral. The structure was expanded in 1996, with the addition of the Bishop Marshall Center at the rear of the church. The center includes a chapel that seats 60 people, a TV studio for the daily broadcast of the Mass, a parish hall that can seat 120 people and kitchen, and it is handicap accessible. From the year 2000, the cathedral has been home to The St. Michael's Cathedral Choir, whose purpose is to serve the bishop, sing at ordinations and other high masses, and perform the annual festival of Lessons and Carols and Tenebrae service during Advent and Lent, respectively. Along with their normal duties, the choir offers basic music theory training to the children of the choir.