Architect: Leon Coquard

The cathedral’s architect was Leon Coquard of Detroit, who designed the cathedral in a French Gothic style. The architecture share many similarities with the 13th century Saint Nicholas Collegiate church from Munster, Moselle in France. The Bishop Nicholas C. Matz who supervised construction was born in this village, so it is perhaps not coincidental. The twin 210 foot spires were capped in 1911. The exterior of the structure is made up of limestone from Indiana and granite from Gunnison, Colorado. The altar, statuary, and bishop’s chair are all made of marble imported from Carrara, Italy.The seventy-five stained glass windows came from the F.X. Zetter’s Royal Bavarian Institute of Munich. With the structure virtually complete, a bolt of lightning struck the west tower on August 7, 1912 and knocked off the top twenty five feet. The spire was repaired before the dedication. The total cost to build the Cathedral was approximately $500,000. The Cathedral was consecrated in 1921. On June 23, 1997, the east spire of the Cathedral was struck by lightning. Repairs took nine months to complete.