
Original design of St. Joseph’s Cathedral, as envisioned by Edward Underwood, architect, ca. 1920. Archdiocese Archives Photograph Collection. ARCAE-P-795.
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St. Joseph’s Basilica is a very special church with humble beginnings. It is the heart of the Archdiocese, the seat of our Archbishop, and the center of archdiocesan liturgies, events, and celebrations. St. Joseph’s Basilica was established as a parish on January 30, 1914 in order to serve the growing Anglophone population living in Central Edmonton. In September of 1923, Archbishop O’Leary announced his plans to designate St. Joseph’s Parish as the Cathedral Parish for Edmonton. Six lots were purchased on Block 13 of the Hudson’s Bay Reserve, and construction began in June of 1924. On March 22, 1925 Archbishop Henry Joseph O’Leary blessed the crypt church and dedicated it to St. Joseph.
At the time, it was the largest church in Edmonton, but due to the financial hardships of the Depression and Second World War years, the crypt would remain the place of worship for the cathedral parish for more than three decades.
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