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353:. Bishop John England is probably responsible for honoring St. Finbar in the naming of the Cathedral. St. Finbar was the founder of the abbey that became the City of Cork, Ireland. The Right Reverend John England was consecrated in Cork Cathedral prior to coming to Charleston in 1821 and was thus quite familiar with the Irish Saint Finbar. Other than being well represented in the naming of Catholic institutions throughout history, it is not known why St. John the Baptist was honored in the naming.
303:(of County Cork, Ireland), originally conceived of the Cathedral. In 1821 he purchased the site of a garden in Charleston called “New Vauxhall”. A house was on the lot, and on December 30, 1821, Bishop England blessed it as a temporary chapel and named it in honor of St. Finbar, the patron saint of Cork. He then set about planning and raising funds for a cathedral for the see. However, Bishop England did not live to see the Cathedral constructed. The
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Believing the cathedral's brownstone construction made it fire safe, congregants and neighbors filled the cathedral with their valuables hoping in vain to protect them from the Great Fire of 1861. A week prior to the 1861 destruction by fire, the
Cathedral's insurance policy was allowed to lapse.
342:), and countless church documents. The total destruction left the congregation without a home for 29 years until the Cathedral's replacement with the new Keely designed brownstone Gothic style Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist at the same Broad Street location.
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The fire that destroyed the
Cathedral also destroyed the diocese seminary, the first Catholic free school for girls, the diocese 17,000-volume library, the offices of the first Catholic newspaper in the US
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This lack of insurance coverage combined with the realities of the Civil War in
Charleston caused the Cathedral ruins to stand for decades unaddressed. The ruins stood until the major
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464:"The Institute for Sacred Architecture | Articles | The Elusive Spire: The Cathedrals of Saint John the Baptist and Saint Finbar"
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was, like its successor the
Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist, clad in brownstone from Connecticut.
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1868 painting of the ruins of the
Cathedral of Saint John and Saint Finbar by William Aiken Walker
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The Gibbes Museum of Art and the
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1st Roman
Catholic cathedral in Charleston, South Carolina (1854–1861)
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succeeded Bishop
England in 1844 and oversaw the final construction.
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19th-century Roman
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This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the
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Cathedral of St. John and St. Finbar after the Great Fire of 1861
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Vol. 3. New York: Robert
Appleton Company, 1908. 7 February 2020
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Duffy, Patrick Laurence. "Charleston." The Catholic Encyclopedia
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Know It All - The Cathedral Church of St. John and St. Finbar
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St Finbar Ruins Charleston William Aiken Walker painting 1868
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likeness of the Cathedral from April 1854 to December 1861
299:(previously the diocese of the Carolinas and Georgia),
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Demolished buildings and structures in South Carolina
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Cathedral of Saint John and Saint Finbar, Charleston
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The original Cathedral was named for the well known
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388:List of Catholic cathedrals in the United States
686:St. Mary of the Annunciation Church, Charleston
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334:caused the remains of the tower to collapse.
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496:St. John the Baptist Church - Charleston, SC
860:Buildings and structures demolished in 1861
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830:Religious organizations established in 1800
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676:St. Mary Help of Christians Church, Aiken
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740:St. Joseph's Catholic School, Greenville
735:St. John Paul II Catholic School, Okatie
22:Cathedral of Saint John and Saint Finbar
491:The Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist
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393:List of cathedrals in the United States
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69:Ecclesiastical or organizational status
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840:Churches in Charleston, South Carolina
730:St. Francis Xavier High School, Sumter
720:Bishop England High School, Charleston
875:1854 establishments in South Carolina
501:The Institute for Sacred Architecture
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543:Roman Catholic Diocese of Charleston
316:Cathedral of St. John and St. Finbar
297:Roman Catholic Diocese of Charleston
266:Cathedral of St. John and St. Finbar
285:Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist
398:List of the works of Patrick Keely
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870:Former churches in South Carolina
656:Cathedral of St. John the Baptist
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305:Right Reverend Ignatius Reynolds
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364:available in Knowledge (XXG).
310:The Cathedral was designed by
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681:St. Andrew's Church, Barnwell
691:St. Peter's Church, Columbia
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766:John James Joseph Monaghan
468:www.sacredarchitecture.org
332:1886 Charleston earthquake
277:Charleston, South Carolina
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295:The first Bishop of the
845:Patrick Keely buildings
788:The Catholic Miscellany
606:Ernest Leo Unterkoefler
340:The Catholic Miscellany
258:216 ft (66 m)
239:216 ft (66 m)
211:156 ft (48 m)
809:Catholicism portal
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581:William Thomas Russell
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231:72 ft (22 m)
219:72 ft (22 m)
102:Geographic coordinates
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621:Robert E. Guglielmone
601:Francis Frederick Reh
444:www.charleston-sc.com
349:and the lesser-known
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312:Patrick Charles Keely
124:32.77639°N 79.93444°W
62:Diocese of Charleston
571:Patrick Neeson Lynch
566:Ignatius A. Reynolds
347:St. John the Baptist
616:Robert Joseph Baker
360:. There is also a
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190:Direction of façade
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471:. Retrieved
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255:Spire height
236:Height (max)
146:Architect(s)
140:Architecture
127: /
45:Affiliation
824:Categories
780:Miscellany
771:John Moore
756:John Barry
557:Ordinaries
473:2018-12-20
449:2018-12-20
404:References
351:St. Finbar
281:St. Mary's
112:32°46′35″N
87:Charleston
710:Education
652:Cathedral
273:cathedral
180:$ 103,000
169:Completed
115:79°56′4″W
73:Cathedral
672:Parishes
646:Churches
382:See also
200:Capacity
83:Location
78:Location
57:District
39:Religion
749:Priests
551:Bishops
291:History
224:Width (
208:Length
662:Abbey
245:Spire
216:Width
203:1,200
194:South
158:Style
264:The
226:nave
172:1854
275:in
247:(s)
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