Country United States Website www.sjbcathedral.org Consecrated January 16, 1929 Phone +1 318-221-5296 Groundbreaking 31 July 1927 | Denomination Roman Catholic Church Founded 1902 Opened 16 January 1929 Material Brick | |
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Location 939 Jordan St.
Shreveport, Louisiana Address Jordan St, Shreveport, LA 71101, USA Diocese Roman Catholic Diocese of Shreveport Architectural styles Gothic Revival architecture, Tudor Revival architecture Similar Holy Trinity Catholic Church, R W Norton Art Gallery, Louisiana State Exhibit M, Walter B Jacobs Memorial, Shreveport Waterworks Pumping Profiles | ||
The Cathedral of Saint John Berchmans is the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Shreveport, in Shreveport, Louisiana, United States. It is one of only eight parish churches in the world dedicated to the Jesuit Saint John Berchmans.
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History
The old parish church traces its origin to the year 1902, when a group of Jesuit priests arrived in Shreveport to establish and staff a new parish and high school for boys. The parish's first rector was Fr. John F. O'Connor, S.J. By 1924, building a larger church was deemed necessary for the growing congregation. The cornerstone of the structure was laid on 31 July 1927. Construction was finished by June 1928, and the church was consecrated on 16 January 1929.
The church was designated a co-cathedral for the Diocese of Alexandria–Shreveport in 1977. That diocese was split, however, on 23 June 1986, creating the Diocese of Shreveport. St. John Berchmans became the cathedral church of the new diocese.
The Jesuits relinquished administration of the parish to the diocese in October 1988. Soon after, from 1992 to 1994, a major renovation was completed, which added both a vestibule and free-standing chapel with a seating capacity of 100 persons.
The school is now co-educational for grades Pre-K-8.One of its notable alumni is Don Hathaway, the sheriff of Caddo Parish from 1980 to 2000.
The Cathedral was renovated in 2014; the High Altar and Tabernacle were restored and some elements installed in the 1992-1994 renovations were removed.
Architectural details
The cathedral was completed in a mixed Tudor-Gothic style: the exposed wooden beams inside the church are typical of the Tudor style, while the pointed arches of the windows and doorways evince a Gothic influence. Three of the large windows inside the church were executed by the stained-glass artist Emil Frei, Jr.