An arson fire destroyed the diocese’s cathedral, St. Raphael Cathedral Parish, in March 2005. St. Raphael was designated a cathedral when Madison was made a diocese in 1946, with the cornerstone of the parish having been laid in 1854.
Since the arson, local parishes have taken turns hosting important events. With St. Bernard’s as the newly established cathedral, the diocese will be able to host priestly ordinations, the annual chrism Mass, and other events.
“The [local parishes] functioned fine, but you just had this longing, knowing that this really wasn’t home,” Radowicz said. “I call it our sojourn in the desert, waiting for that time in which either a new cathedral would be built or an existing parish would be named the cathedral. So I think it’s really going to be joyful for the people to really have a home that they can call their diocesan home once again.”
Rather than building a new cathedral on the existing site, the diocese decided to petition the Holy See to name an existing parish as the new cathedral. The move is part of the diocesan Into the Deep program, where 102 parishes will become 30 pastorates by 2024 in an effort to use diocesan resources more efficiently.
St. Bernard Church is currently being renovated before its elevation to cathedral status.
“St. Bernard was very well designed as a parish church, but of course, now the needs of the church are going to change a bit,” Radowicz said. “In terms of logistics, in terms of sanctuary size, seating, music, all of that. So we’re able to address all of those concerns with this renovation, as well as to ornament the space appropriately, for certainly a lot less than it would be to construct a whole new building.”
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