Cheyenne's Cathedral of St. Mary is an enduring symbol for Wyoming Catholics.
Just forty years after the railroad arrived and Cheyenne was established with no promise of ever being anything more than a temporary camp, construction of today's Cathedral was begun in 1906. Bishop James J. Keane and Reverend James A. Duffy worked to acquire the ideal site and necessary funds to begun construction.
According to contemporary accounts, on Sunday July 7, 1907, 5,000 people thronged to the solemn laying of the cornerstone of the Cathedral by Bishop Richard Scannell of Omaha, Nebraska.
Intense feelings of community and state pride were summed up by Governor Brooks: "Our hearts throb with pride at the thought that this beautiful stone was quarried from Wyoming ledges; that the brain, the brawn, the money with which finally is to see that the capstone is in place, are all Wyoming. Upon this cornerstone will be a grand Cathedral."
Those sentiments were echoed on January 31, 1909, when the Cathedral was consecrated by Bishop Maurice F. Burke of St. Joseph, Missouri, who had been Cheyenne's first bishop (1887-1893), and by Bishop John P. Carroll of Helena, Montana, who delivered the first sermon.
They observed that the Cathedral bore witness to years of work and dedication of pastors and parishioners and gave evidence of material and spiritual progress in Wyoming.
The magnificent structure, the Cathedral of St. Mary, stood with noble Gothic lines against the clear blue Wyoming sky then as it does today -- its tower visible for miles. Architects Fisher and Lowery from Omaha, Nebraska, used the architectural style of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in their design. The Cathedral measuring 135 feet in length and 70 feet at the transept was built entirely of Wyoming grey sandstone.
Large arches of steel and concrete trimmed with oak spanned the interior celing. Two side gallaries, a choir loft, a vestibule, and a sacristy completed the structure.
The building, with its interior decorations, totaled $125,000 and was debt-free when completed. Stained glass windows in the body of the church, in the galleries, and on the side walls of the sanctuary were imported from Europe and donated as memorials. The large Madonna window in the choir loft was also imported from Europe and was a gift of the Knights of Columbus.
Father Duffy served St. Mary's Cathedral and its parishioners for nine years before becoming Bishop of Kearney. For the following two years (1913-1915), Bishop McGovern took charge of the Parish as well as the administration of the Diocese of Cheyenne.
Reverend James A. Hartmann began a lengthy and challenging pastorate of 58 years on May 1, 1915. Father Hartmann also became the administrator of St. Mary's School. Just as all of his endeavors met with great vigor, he took an active interest in the school -- teaching German and religion classes.
A modern school building, which became St. Mary's High School, a new St. Mary's Grade School, an addition connecting the two schools, a larger convent, and a building known for almost 40 years as the Cathedral Hall -- all were part of ambitious building projects completed by Father Hartmann.
Father Hartmann was installed as Domestic Prelate by Bishop Hubert M. Newell at an impressive ceremony in the Cathedral on February 16, 1952. The Right Reverend Monsignor, as he was then known, continued with the work of the parish in his seemingly tireless manner.