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 Progress
at New Co-Cathedral
Key Liturgical Art Pieces in Place
(Houston) Two major statues are now in place
in the new Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart currently under
construction in Downtown Houston. Workers completed
installation of the statue of Mary of the Immaculate Conception in
the West transept of the cathedral (today) on June 28th. The
statue depicting the co-cathedral’s namesake, the Sacred Heart of
Jesus, was installed last week.
The statues each stand 12 feet tall and weigh
12,000 pounds. The works of art are sculpted out of white
Carrara marble and were created in Carrara, Italy. It took
workers from Linbeck Construction a total of six days to mount the
two six ton statues.
Workers have also installed several beautiful
stained glass windows including the Resurrection Window created by
Mellini Art Glass and Mosaics of Florence, Italy. Archbishop
Emeritus Joseph Fiorenza is overseeing the cathedral project for
current Chief Shepherd Archbishop Daniel DiNardo. Upon seeing the
statues and windows in the new co-cathedral, Archbishop Fiorenza
said, “This beautiful artwork surpasses all my expectations and is
much more spiritually inspiring than any of the models we saw.
We hope that when people see these magnificent works of art they
will be reminded of Christ’s love for all people and His desire that
we bring His love and teaching of the Gospels to everyone.”
 Linbeck
Construction spokesman Mark Gore says work on the new co-cathedral
is roughly 85-percent complete with the construction of the
campanile (bell tower) expected to be completed in October.
Projected completion of construction for the entire co-cathedral
project is expected in early 2008 with a dedication Mass planned for
April 2, 2008.
Ziegler-Cooper Architects designed the
structure located at the corner of St. Joseph Parkway and San
Jacinto in downtown Houston. Linbeck Construction is the
construction manager for the project. The new co-cathedral
will serve the 1.3 million Roman Catholics in the Archdiocese of
Galveston- Houston.
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