The Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle: where a nation said goodbye to John F. Kennedy
A Washington, D.C., monsignor Thomas Sim Lee acquistò nel 1892 il terreno su Rhode Island Avenue per una nuova chiesa parrocchiale destinata a sostituire la precedente St. Matthew’s; l’architetto Christopher Grant La Farge, già coinvolto nella cattedrale di San Giovanni il Divino a New York, ne firmò il progetto, accettato nel 1893, anno in cui fu posata anche la prima pietra; la prima messa vi fu celebrata il 2 giugno 1895, ma i lavori proseguirono ancora per anni, fino all’installazione della cupola e alla dedicazione formale dell’edificio nel 1913. La chiesa è in stile neoromanico con elementi bizantini, non rinascimentale come talvolta si legge, costruita in mattoni rossi con rifiniture in arenaria e terracotta. Nel 1939 Papa Pio XII soppresse l’Arcidiocesi di Baltimora istituendo l’Arcidiocesi di Baltimora-Washington, che rese St. Matthew’s co-cattedrale, di pari rango rispetto alla Cattedrale Basilica dell’Assunzione di Baltimora; solo nel 1947, con la separazione della nuova Arcidiocesi di Washington, la chiesa divenne l’unica cattedrale della nuova circoscrizione. La cattedrale è nota soprattutto per aver ospitato, il 25 novembre 1963, tre giorni dopo l’assassinio, la messa da requiem per il presidente John F. Kennedy, presieduta dal cardinale Richard Cushing di Boston, alla presenza di numerosi capi di Stato e dignitari, seguita dal corteo funebre verso il Cimitero Nazionale di Arlington; un’iscrizione sul pavimento segna ancora oggi il punto in cui fu posata la bara. All’interno, dietro l’altare maggiore, si trova un mosaico di 10,7 metri raffigurante San Matteo, opera del muralista americano Edwin Howland Blashfield, che realizzò anche i mosaici del presbiterio, dei pennacchi e della Cappella del Santissimo Sacramento; la Cappella di Nostra Signora ospita invece tre mosaici di Thomas S. La Farge. La cupola ottagonale si eleva per 58 metri sopra la navata. Ogni anno, la domenica precedente il primo lunedì di ottobre, giorno di apertura della Corte Suprema, la cattedrale ospita la tradizionale “Messa Rossa”, celebrata dal 1953 sotto l’egida della John Carroll Society, a cui parteciparono a partire dal 1954 anche presidenti in carica, giudici della Corte Suprema e membri del governo. Nessun altro presidente statunitense ha avuto qui la propria cerimonia funebre, sebbene la cattedrale abbia ospitato quella del presidente filippino Manuel L. Quezon nel 1944.
About the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle
In Washington, D.C., Monsignor Thomas Sim Lee purchased the Rhode Island Avenue site in 1892 for a new parish church to replace the earlier St. Matthew’s; architect Christopher Grant La Farge, already involved in New York’s Cathedral of St. John the Divine, designed the building, his plan accepted in 1893, the year the cornerstone was laid; the first Mass was celebrated on 2 June 1895, but work continued for years afterward, culminating in the dome’s installation and the church’s formal dedication in 1913. The church is built in Romanesque Revival style with Byzantine elements, not Renaissance style as sometimes reported, in red brick with sandstone and terra-cotta trim. In 1939 Pope Pius XII suppressed the Archdiocese of Baltimore and established the Archdiocese of Baltimore-Washington, making St. Matthew’s a co-cathedral, of equal rank to Baltimore’s Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption; only in 1947, with the separation of the new Archdiocese of Washington, did the church become the sole cathedral of the new jurisdiction. The cathedral is best known for hosting, on 25 November 1963, three days after his assassination, the Requiem Mass for President John F. Kennedy, presided over by Cardinal Richard Cushing of Boston, attended by numerous heads of state and dignitaries, followed by the funeral procession to Arlington National Cemetery; a floor inscription still marks where the casket rested. Inside, behind the high altar, stands a 35-foot mosaic of St. Matthew by American muralist Edwin Howland Blashfield, who also created the mosaics of the chancel, pendentives and Blessed Sacrament Chapel; the Chapel of Our Lady holds three mosaics by Thomas S. La Farge. The octagonal dome rises 190 feet above the nave. Each year, on the Sunday before the first Monday in October, the day the Supreme Court opens its term, the cathedral hosts the traditional “Red Mass,” celebrated since 1953 under the auspices of the John Carroll Society, attended from 1954 onward by sitting presidents, Supreme Court justices and government officials. No other U.S. president has had a funeral ceremony here, though the cathedral did host that of Philippine President Manuel L. Quezon in 1944.
Key facts
- 1893-1913: built and dedicated, designed by architect Christopher Grant La Farge
- Romanesque Revival style with Byzantine elements, in red brick and sandstone
- 1939/1947: becomes co-cathedral, then sole cathedral of the new Archdiocese of Washington
- 25 November 1963: site of President John F. Kennedy’s Requiem Mass
- 35-foot mosaic of St. Matthew by Edwin Howland Blashfield behind the high altar
- Annual “Red Mass” for the legal community, held since 1953
History
The cathedral’s two-decade construction and its gradual elevation from parish church to co-cathedral in 1939 and finally sole cathedral in 1947 reflect the broader reorganization of American Catholic dioceses in the early 20th century. Its single afternoon in November 1963, when the eyes of the world turned to a Requiem Mass inside its walls, gave the building a place in American civic memory that outweighs even its long institutional history.
What you see
A red-brick Romanesque Revival facade with Byzantine touches rises to a 190-foot octagonal dome, its interior anchored by Edwin Howland Blashfield’s 35-foot mosaic of St. Matthew above the high altar. A floor inscription near the sanctuary marks the exact spot where President Kennedy’s casket rested during his 1963 funeral Mass.
Practical information
- Opening hours: generally open daily outside services; check current hours before visiting
- Address: 1725 Rhode Island Avenue NW, Washington, D.C., United States
Getting there
The cathedral stands near Dupont Circle in northwest Washington, D.C., easily reached by metro or on foot. GPS: 38°54′22″N, 77°02′24″W.
Nearby
- Dupont Circle — the historic neighborhood surrounding the cathedral
- Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception — the larger national shrine elsewhere in Washington
Sources
- Wikipedia — “Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle” (en.wikipedia.org)
- Official cathedral site — History pages (stmatthewscathedral.org)
- SAH Archipedia — “Saint Matthew’s Cathedral” (sah-archipedia.org)
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