News

Madison bishop says cathedral will be rebuilt
on current site

By Mary C. Uhler
Madison Catholic Herald

MADISON -- Bishop Robert C. Morlino said on Sunday, June 10, that St. Raphael Cathedral church would be rebuilt on the site of the present church in downtown Madison.

Bishop Morlino made the announcement at the conclusion of a Eucharistic Procession celebrating the Feast of Corpus Christi - the Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ.

Bishop Morlino has spent more than two years listening, consulting and praying about the cathedral future.

"I truly believe in my heart that the decision at which I have arrived is what God wills," Bishop Morlino said.

St. Raphael's cornerstone was laid in 1854, and the church, located at 222 W. Main St., was designated as the cathedral church for the newly established Diocese of Madison in 1946. Much of the church was destroyed in an arson fire on March 14, 2005.

Bishop Morlino said that the footprint of the new church will be different than the current cathedral. The new church will be bigger and is expected to seat 1,000 people. It will be erected where the current church, rectory and parking lot now exist.

The new entrance will be on Fairchild St., rather than on Main St. The diocese will use the current steeple, which was installed in 2004, and as much as they can salvage from the existing church.

A final design has yet to be determined. Bishop Morlino announced that a feasibility study will be done on the financial aspects of the project. The Diocese of Madison has an insurance settlement of $6.125 million for use in building a new cathedral.

Today's Eucharistic Procession started at St. Patrick Church and moved to the state Capitol, where Bishop Paul Swain of the Diocese of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and former rector of St. Raphael, spoke. It concluded at the St. Raphael site, where Bishop Morlino made his announcement.