Twin Spires Cathedral
St. Joseph, Missouri
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The History of
Twin Spires Cathedral:
Church of the
Immaculate Conception was organized as a German national parish in 1860.
A wood frame church was built on the southeast corner of 10th &
Angelique and was destroyed by a windstorm in 1864. It was
replaced by a brick building, completed 1867. In 1908, this
building was raised and replaced by the present building, designed by
the local architect Edmund J. Eckel and completed in 1910.
Twelve of the 37 stained glass windows are original to the building and depict the life of Mary, mother of Christ. They were created by the Frei Studio of St. Louis.
In 1961, the parish of Saints Peter & Paul, a Polish national parish organized in 1883, began to worship again at this church. In 1977, the two parishes were combined to form Queen of the Apostles Church. The old “prickly Gothic” wood high altar, statuary and hand-carved Italian Stations of the Cross from Saints Peter & Paul were brought over to this building.
The parish was closed by the Diocese of Kansas City & St. Joseph in 1992. The property was deeded over to a not-for-profit group and re-named “Twin Spires.” The most recent pipe organ, that was installed by M. P. Moller in the late 1940s, was sold by the Diocese before it deeded the building. Twin Spires, Inc. assembled a religious history museum and undertook restoration of the property. In 2002, the St. Joseph Museum took management of this facility.
In 2003
the property was sold to private investors, Ed and Linda Hood,
who now operate it as a wedding chapel and reception hall, as
well as for public tours.
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501 S. 10th Street ~ St. Joseph, MO 64501 |
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Phone: 816.233.9788 ~ Fax: 816.233.9788 ~ Email: twinspires@sbcglobal.net |
