St. Peter's Pro-Cathedral (Richmond, Virginia)

St. Peter's Pro-Cathedral is a Catholic church located in Richmond, Virginia, United States. It is the oldest Catholic church in the city. From the erecting of the Diocese of Richmond in 1850 until the completion of the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in 1906, St. Peter's Church served as the cathedral and seat of the diocese.^[3] Originally, the church was predominantly Irish American. The church continued to serve a congregation of approximately 300 as of 2011.^[4]

St. Peter's Pro-Cathedral
Religion
Affiliation	Roman Catholic
Status	Active
Location
Location	800 E. Grace St., Richmond, Virginia, United States of America
Architecture
Style	Neoclassical
Completed	1834
Specifications
Direction of façade	southwest
Materials
St. Peter's Pro-Cathedral
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Virginia Landmarks Register
Richmond City Historic District
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Location	800 E. Grace St., Richmond, Virginia
Coordinates	37°32′26″N 77°26′8″W
Area	0.2 acres (0.081 ha)
Built	1834 (1834)
Architectural style	Romanesque
NRHP reference No.	69000358[1]
VLR No.	127-0015
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	June 23, 1969
Designated VLR	November 5, 1968[2]
Website
http://www.stpeterchurch1834.org/

After the Civil War, St. Peter's basement hosted the city's "colored Catholics." The 13-member congregation included Emily Mitchell (born into slavery in 1824, brought from Baltimore and later serving Bishop James Gibbons), Julia Grandison (baptised in Georgia and brought to Richmond at age 9), Moses Marx (who began driving Bishop John Keane's buggy at age 12), Liza Marx (who learned to read and reminded the judge reading her mistress' will that he forgot the lines bequeathing money to Elizabeth Thompson and her next child of issue), and Julia Flippen as well as her children.^[5] When the congregation had increased to about 50, including children, Bishop Keane signed a deed for what became St. Jos Church on Shockoe Hill, also inviting the Josephites for help in furthering the Black apostolate.^[6]

In 2020 the parish was designated a pro-cathedral as part of the Diocese of Richmond bicentennial celebration.^[7]

Gallery

• 
  A photograph of the church from a 1914 publication

See also

• List of Catholic cathedrals in the United States
• List of cathedrals in the United States

References

1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
2. "Virginia Landmarks Register". Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Retrieved 19 March 2013.
3. "St. Peter's Church" (PDF). Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
4. "Our History". St. Peter's Church. Archived from the original on 26 February 2012. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
5. Nessa Theresa Baskerville Johnson, A Special Pilgrimaage: A History of Black Catholics in Richmond (Diocese of Richmond, 1978) at pp. 13-15
6. Johnson, pp. 16-18
7. "Saint Peter's Pro-Cathedral".