Whether it is the splendor of Notre-Dame in Paris, the grandeur of St. Patrick in New York or the beauty of Santa Maria in Santo Domingo, the cathedral is the mother church where the faithful gather with their bishop, clergy, and Religious to celebrate the significant liturgies of the diocese — ordinations, the Chrism Mass, the Rite of Election. 

Usually located in the heart of the city, a cathedral proclaims the presence of the Church in the world, sent to proclaim the Gospel, build up the Kingdom of God, and contribute to the common good. 

We in the Diocese of Madison have been without a cathedral for more than 20 years now, since we tragically lost St. Raphael in 2005. 

We have functioned in these ensuing years, in that we have been able to utilize our more spacious parish churches for big events, but there is a fundamental need to have a beautiful, functional, and accessible cathedral to fully express the spiritual unity of the diocese.

The beauty within

The choice of St. Bernard Church in Madison to be our cathedral reflects the priorities of both Go Make Disciples and Into the Deep. 

Planted in the heart of the city, St. Bernard will be a source of evangelization for our community, a place for the theological formation of our faithful, a center for charity and service to the suffering and those in need, and a symbol of Christ in the world. 

By repurposing an existing church of age and beauty, instead of building from scratch, we are also saving tens of millions of dollars and better utilizing our resources. 

The generosity of so many good people to our Cathedral Campaign is truly inspiring! 

I am profoundly grateful for the sacrificial kindness of so many which has propelled the momentum of this necessary project, but we still have a way to go. 

Everyone who has toured the cathedral stands in awe of the colorful murals of saints, the radiant stained-glass windows, and the ambient feel of this sacred space. 

From our mother church will arise the sacred worship of the Triune God in the power of the Eucharist, the inspiration of Vespers, the grace of priestly and diaconal ordinations, the excitement of catechumens preparing for the Easter sacraments, and the saving effect of the blessed oils at the Chrism Mass. 

With generosity and prayers

The Cathedral of St. Bernard of Clairvaux will stand for the ages as a holy place of prayer, unity, faith, and service, long after we have passed from this life. 

The enduring power of this legacy project will serve generations of Catholics to come, as assuredly as we enjoy the fruits of our own forbears’ sacrificial generosity which built the churches we gather and worship in. 

How spiritually powerful and unifying it would be if every household in the diocese gave to the Cathedral campaign no matter how large or small the gift! 

Such an overarching response would beautifully demonstrate our love for Christ and His holy Church, as we express our unified communion in the Body of the Lord.   

Please consider a donation to this important campaign and join your prayers to ours, both for a successful completion of the project, but even more importantly, for an abundant spiritual fruitfulness which will overflow throughout the entire diocese through the gift of having a cathedral once more after all these years. 

St. Bernard, our cathedral patron, was a monk of vision and action, deeply contemplative and filled with a magnanimous love for Our Lady. 

We ask his prayers that our lives, too, will be formed by a life of profound prayer and tender devotion for the Mother of God. 

St. Bernard of Clairvaux, pray for us!