Our History

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Above: Construction photo taken November 16, 1942. Note the wheel barrel perched high on the scaffolding. A system of ramps and pulleys (and lots of muscle) was used to get the concrete to the top, and then pour it into the forms.
- Cathedral of the Holy Spirit was built during World War II (1941-1945) and was dedicated by Bishop Vincent J. Ryan on August 30, 1945.
- The first bishop of the Diocese of Bismarck, Most Reverend Vincent Wehrle, O.S.B., had a special devotion to the Holy Spirit, and it was his dream to construct a beautiful cathedral as a shrine to the Holy Spirit.
- In 1917, Bishop Wehrle bought land on the west end of Bismarck for the cathedral site.
- In 1921, Bishop Wehrle had architect Anton Dohman of Milwaukee draw up the plans. The first plan was similar to the Abbey Church, located in Richardton, ND, while his second draft was strikingly similar to the plan later adopted by Bishop Vincent Ryan.
- With the diocese in the midst of the Great Depression, construction was postponed year after year.
- One of the first things Bishop Ryan did on becoming bishop in 1940 was to set things in motion for the construction of a cathedral. Bishop Ryan hired William Kurke of Fargo as architect. Kurke had designed the North Dakota State Capitol Building. Ground was broken on the cathedral site in September 1941.
- At its opening in August 1945, there was much that was incomplete, especially interior decoration and furnishings. These were added as things became available after the war.
- The Cathedral was renovated in 1992-1993. In addition to the many changes to Bishop Ryan's Cathedral, a gathering space was added.
- The style of the church is Art Deco and it is constructed of monolithic concrete.