Rosary Cathedral
- Architect
- John Theodore Comès
- City
- Toledo, OH
Our Lady, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary Cathedral stands at 2535 Collingwood Boulevard in Toledo's Old West End, completed in 1931 as the mother church of the Diocese of Toledo. Bishop Joseph Schrembs bought the Collingwood Boulevard campus land in 1911, and the cathedral parish was formed in 1915 from pieces of St. Patrick, St. Francis de Sales, and St. Ann Parishes, though the cathedral itself waited years to break ground. Design is credited to John Theodore Comès, a noted American ecclesiastical architect; cathedral officials say it was conceived with Toledo, Spain, in mind and describe it as the only American cathedral built in the Spanish Plateresque style. It seats 1,400 worshippers.
the building
A cathedral decades in the making. The Diocese of Toledo was erected by Pope Pius X in 1910 with Joseph Schrembs as its first bishop, who purchased the Collingwood Boulevard land the next year. The bishop's residence, chancery, and school were finished by 1914, and the cathedral parish was formally erected in 1915 by combining St. Patrick, St. Francis de Sales, and St. Ann Parishes — but construction of the cathedral building itself still hadn't begun. Ground wasn't broken until 1925, with the cornerstone laid in 1926, ahead of the 1931 completion.
Spanish Plateresque, by way of Toledo. Cathedral officials say the building was designed with Toledo, Spain in mind, and it's described as the only cathedral in the United States built in the Spanish Plateresque style — an ornate Spanish Renaissance idiom named for the intricate, silversmith-like ('platero') stone carving it favors.
the style
The cathedral is worked in the Spanish Plateresque style, an ornate Spanish Renaissance idiom, and cathedral officials say it was designed with the city of Toledo, Spain in mind. It's identified as the only cathedral in the United States built in this style, a distinction tied directly to the name the two Toledos share.
the architect
Design of Rosary Cathedral is credited to John Theodore Comès, described as a noted American ecclesiastical architect.
significance
As the mother church of the Diocese of Toledo, the cathedral seats 1,400 worshippers and anchors a campus that also includes the bishop's residence, chancery, and school on Collingwood Boulevard, first developed starting in 1911.
nearby
- Toledo Museum of Art Glass Pavilion
- First Church of Christ, Scientist
- Ashland Avenue Baptist Church
- Ohio Theatre
- Dr. John A. Wright House
- Toledo Museum of Art