St. Philomena Cathedral (St. Frances Cabrini Catholic Church)

The St. Philomena Cathedral, now known as The St. Frances Cabrini Catholic Church, was built in 1908 and served as the Cathedral of the Omaha Diocese of the Catholic Church until 1916 when it was replaced by the St. Cecilia Cathedral. This eight year period sets itself apart in a number of ways both for Catholics throughout the city of Omaha, for the Diocese, and for the Bishop who guided them, Richard Scannell. For the city of Omaha as a whole, it was an era of growth and prosperity, with the city experiencing some of the most rapid growth in its history up until that time. For the Diocese, it was a period of relative peace in those rocky early years of Omaha. For Richard Scannell, it was the end of his long and successful vocation, made bittersweet by the failure of his one great ambition.

In order to understand the significance of the relative peace of the period of this St. Philomena Cathedral, we must first understand the earlier history of the Omaha Diocese, beginning humbly in a small brick church and later facing fierce opposition. When the Vicariate Apostolic of Nebraska was established in 1859, there were only four priests throughout the entire territory, which encompassed "the State of Nebraska and the Territories of Montana and Wyoming, and a part of the Territory of Dakota." Before the establishment of the Vicariate, the priest in Omaha had no church at all and performed mass within the governor's house. [1] Not long later, a humble brick church was erected which served as the center for the Diocese, until 1869 when St. Philomena's Cathedral was constructed. However, this is not the St. Philomena's Cathedral which went on to become the St. Frances Cabrini Catholic Church. Rather, this earlier building, with its towering gothic spire, was the immediate predecessor of the second St. Philomena's Cathedral which would be established in 1908. [2] This was a time of social ostracism for Omaha's Catholics as they experienced harassment and false accusations at the hands of the American Protective Association, an organization of bigoted Protestants. However, with the support of many of the communities prominent Protestant clergy and The Omaha Bee, the controversy passed and the growth of the Diocese continued into the establishment of the second St. Philomena's Cathedral. [6]

Due to the growing and changing nature of the city of Omaha, what had once been a residential district and a perfect location for the beautiful first St. Philomena's Cathedral, gave way to a bustling business district. [1] It was due to this change, that the second St. Philomena's Cathedral was constructed in 1908, designed by architect Thomas R. Kimball. The building was erected in the heart of little Italy and for this reason it went on to become a national parish of Italian Americans, though the Diocese as a whole also contained large Irish and Anglo-Catholic populations. [4] When designing St. Philomena's Cathedral, Thomas R. Kimball sought to tell the story of Catholicism in Omaha in his choice of the Spanish Revival style for the building. Through this choice, he highlighted the historical influence of Spanish Catholicism, bringing the first Christian Missionaries into Nebraska. [3] St. Philomena's architecture was, in this way, defiant of the anti-Catholic sentiment which had been so prevalent in Omaha in the last several decades. Not only that, with the erecting of the church it was also meant to display the prestige of the Omaha Diocese, for not only were the Catholics of Omaha wrestling with nativists to be respected as true Americans, they were also wrestling with the Papacy to be recognized as deserving ascension to the status of an Archdiocese.

In 1908, Scannell had been the bishop of the Omaha Diocese for 17 years. He had led the Diocese through its greatest crisis in its conflict with the A.P.A. and now he sought to gain recognition for his Diocese from the Papacy as an Archdiocese for Omaha both for the sake of recognition and for the good of the growth of the Catholic Church. [6] It was partially for this reason, to raise the prestige of the Diocese of Omaha, that items were brought into the Cathedral to enrich it including an alter donated by the Creighton family in the 1860's [5] as well as a fine pipe organ [4]. Meanwhile, in the arena of papal politics, Scannell and the bishop of Dubuque, John Keanne, petitioned the Papacy in letters and during trips to Rome. However, when John Keanne retired, Scannell sent a petition to be signed by his successor James Keanne, written in Italian. This was meant as a sign of the education of the Catholics of Omaha, that they could write in the native language of the Pope. However, James Keanne responded that he would not sign it until it was written in Latin, the language of the church. Scannell took this as a sign that he opposed the petition and would not sign it for that reason. This led to a rift between the two which remained until Scannell's death in 1916. [6]

To say the least, it was an eventful year, and it was the end of the period of peace during which the St. Philomena Cathedral remained as Omaha's Cathedral. In 1916, Bishop Richard Scannell died as was replaced by Archbishop Jeremiah Harty. The First World War broke out. The Easter Rising rose in Ireland and was violently repressed, leading to widespread outrage among Omaha's Irish Catholics. The Catholics of Omaha were initially divided in terms of their response to the rise of the Great War with many German and Irish Catholics cheering on the successes of the Central Powers while many Slavic Catholics, who had come from lands dominated by the Austro-Hungarian Empire, wished for allied victory. From this point onwards, St. Philomena Cathedral was no more, and it would thereon be known as the St. Philomena Catholic Church and later the St. Frances Cabrini Catholic Church. [6]

[1] Clarke, Richard Henry. History of the Catholic Church in the United States from the Earliest Period to the Present Time: With Biographical Sketches of the Living Bishops. Embellished with 85 Photogravure Portraits of the American Hierarchy, Steel Plates, and Typogravure Views of All the Cathedral Churches. Volume 2. Gebbie & Company, 1890.

[2] Parish History, St. Frances Cabrini. Accessed April 14th 2022. https://stcabriniomaha.org/welcome/parish-history/.

[3] St. Frances Cabrini Catholic Church & Rectory, Omaha Landmarks Heritage Preservation Commission. Accessed April 14th 2022. https://landmark.cityofomaha.org/images/pdf/St_Philomena_Cathedral_and_Rectory_St_Francis_Cabrini_Catholic_Church/St.-Philomenas_Francis_Cabrini_Church_Local_Landmark_Designation_Report.pdf.

[4] St. Philomena's Catholic Church, Omaha, Nebr., Nebraska Memories. Accessed April 14th 2022. http://memories.nebraska.gov/cdm/ref/collection/opl/id/68.

[5] Mullens, Patrick Aloysius. Creighton: Biographical Sketches of Edward Creighton, John A. Creighton, Mary Lucretia Creighton, Sarah Emily Creighton. Omaha, Nebraska. Creighton University, 1901.

St. Philomena's Cathedral and Rectory, National Register of Historic Places. Accessed April 14th 2022. https://npgallery.nps.gov/AssetDetail/eeb38eb0-91d1-4a07-834f-a5a1d72b5c58.

[6] Szmrecsanyi, Stephen. Henry, Casper. History of the Catholic Church in northeast Nebraska : phenomenal growth from Scannell to Bergan, 1891-1969. Edition 1. Omaha, Nebraska. Catholic Voice, 1983.