First Mass

December 25, 1848

Documentation

• Diocese of Cleveland — Mass Gala Highlight 175th Anniversary of Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist

Notes

Christmas Day 1848 marks the first Mass at the site of what became the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in Cleveland. The celebration took place in the temporary Chapel of the Nativity, erected mere weeks after the cornerstone was laid on October 22, 1848. The cathedral building itself would not be completed until 1852. During weekdays, the temporary chapel also served as a school. This liturgy inaugurated Catholic worship at the cathedral site, which would grow into a major institutional presence in the Diocese of Cleveland. This entry came out of a search of the Diocese of Cleveland's own website, which documents the 175th anniversary of the cathedral and the Christmas 1848 first Mass.