St. Patrick's Co-Cathedral-Tour the Church

The main entry doors represent the symbol of Christ. Everyone who comes through these doors revisits that union and senses the bigger, grander doors as they transition from ordinary space to sacred space. The doors and details are brass with a rectangular grid and flowerets spaced randomly in that grid. The door handles are in the quatrefoil shape and proportional in size to the entry doors. All the details coincide with the interior design.

The Tree of Life Window ties both the Hebrew and the Christian scriptures together. It was through a tree that our first parents, Adam and Eve, fell from grace and were expelled from the garden of Eden. The Tree of Life is the symbol that reconciles us to God. The image refers to the cross of Jesus. In a sense, one tree brought us death and one tree brings us back to life. The medievels went so far as to believe that the wood of Jesus' cross was made from the same tree that brought death to Adam and Eve. The tree is also the image of the connection between heaven and the earth. The tree is rooted in the soil of the earth but its branches are entwined in the heavens. The tree is the image of the church, a people on a pilgrimage toward heaven. We begin our journey in baptism, suggested by the soft blue water forms at the lower right of the window. The window proclaims the hope and conviction that the St. Patrick's community will flourish and continue to bear good fruit.

The Gathering Area

After extensive negotiations with the city of Billings, permission was granted to purchase the first lane of traffic on North 31st Street between the alley and 3rd Avenue North. A gathering space was added to the entryway, extending out to the curb of the old sidewalk.

The Reconciliation Chapel, which was installed in the back of the church in the late 1980s and which covered the Cana Window was removed. Space for the new Reconciliation Chapel was made on the north side of the gathering area adjacent to the baptismal font. Both sacraments go together.

The processional cross, a gift from Bishop Anthony Milone (usually placed in the Reconciliation Chapel), is a jeweled cross surrounded by a bronze halo of leaves which symbolizes Christ's victory over death. This cross does not have a corpus on it because there is already a large figure of the crucified Christ in the church. The five jewels are symbols of Jesus' Passion and victory over death. Whenever the church gathers to worship, the cross always leads the procession. It is the standard or banner of the people of God.

Glass walls and doors enhance the light and the sense of openness in the gathering area and the Reconciliation Chapel. The appliques are a reproduction of the original rose window, which used to be over the balcony. Saint Patrick, as our patron, greets people and watches over our coming and our going.

At the entrance to the assembly space, is the Baptismal Font, a 7ft. granite and travertine pool surmounted by a cast bronze bowl. By removing the inside wall and doors of the vestibule, room was developed for a baptismal space, which would allow for adult immersion. The floor of the baptismal pool is marked with the sign of the cross cut from red and black granite. When we are baptized, we die and rise with the Lord. The font is located near the entrance to remind us that we begin our lifetime journey as Christians in the waters of baptism and then move closer to the table of the Lord.

Standing in the middle of the church and looking toward the entrance, the Ambry is located on the wall to the left of the baptismal font. The oil of the sick, the oil of the catechumens and the oil of the chrism are used in the anointing rituals. The ambry is made of red oak and antique rippled glass.

To the right of the baptismal font is the Paschal Candle. This candle, which is new each Easter, is a symbol of the light of Christ rising anew. It is lit at every baptism and funeral. During the 50 days of the Easter season, it burns in the sanctuary.

The stained glass windows in the Co-Cathedral represent three different periods in the history of the Catholic Church in Billings. The windows in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel and the Chapel of the Shrines are from the 1880s. The stained glass windows in the nave date from the early 1900s and were built by the Munich Studio of Chicago. The Tree of Life Window in the Gathering Area is a Millenium piece. In the restoration of 2000, the Frei Studio of St. Louis was hired to wash and thoroughly clean all the windows as well as make repairs and provide protective glass. The Rose window over the balcony was refurbished sometime in the 1940s or 1950s. In the 1950s, the fire department requested an exit on the north side of the church. In the process, the Ascension window was removed. The window will be installed in an appropriate place in the rectory. The Annunciation (Luke 1:26-38).

The Sanctuary. The priest's sacristy and the altar servers' sacristy were moved to make room for the Blessed Sacrament Chapel and the Chapel of the Shrines. The sacristies were relocated to what used to be the priest's garage, down the hallway between the church and the rectory. By taking out the non-supporting walls in the front of the church, several things were accomplished: 1.) Natural light was allowed into the front. 2.) A greater sense of openness and spaciousness was achieved. 3.) Space was arranged for a Blessed Sacrament Chapel (to the left of the altar) and a Chapel of the Shrines (to the right of the altar). 4.) The windows from Saint Joachim's, the original Catholic Church (1887) in Billings, became visible from the main body. 5.) Adequate space for choirs, cantors, musicians, the new grand piano and the new organ was developed. 6.) The arches over the original side altars were reopened to become the facia for the sound chambers for the organ.

The apse, the half dome architectural focus of the church was opened to communicate with both of the side chapels and to let the natural light in. The Gothic arch was maintained in these openings to be consistent with the design of the rest of the Church. Elements of Gothic architecture include distinctive pointed arches as well as high ceilings that produce a soaring vertical feeling. The walls of the dome are articulated by pillars, which are surmounted by capitals. From the capitals spring ribs that define the curved facets of the dome. Plasterers built these ribs by hand, one day at a time. The ribs meet and are joined by a boss, the decorative keystone of the arch. If you look above your head in the nave of the church, the bosses are decorated with a swirl of acanthus leaves. A smaller version of this is used in the sanctuary dome. The cornice, the decorative horizontal band that runs all around the church continues at the same height in the apse and the gathering area.

The altar stands in the center of the raised platform as the symbol of Christ. It is designed to reflect the Gothic style of St. Patrick's and is made of quarter sawn red oak and black walnut. The altar top is inlayed with five marks in the sign of a cross, which represent the five glorious wounds of Christ. The altar is square in shape and has three arches facing in each direction. These arched openings make reference to the heavenly city of Jerusalem, which has twelve gates; three facing north, south, east and west.

The ambo is a desk or reading stand from which the word of God is proclaimed. It is designed to reflect and harmonize with the altar and is made of the same woods. The upper part of the ambo can be removed to enable children and the physically challenged to proclaim the word.

Hanging above the altar is the great cross, which bears the figure of the crucified Christ. The original corpus was restored and refinished and mounted on a new cross. In Latin, the crux gemata, or jeweled cross, was a symbol of Resurrection. The end blocks of the cross each bear a quatrefoil, or four petaled shape. These shapes, which are the abstraction of a petaled flower, are quite prevalent in Gothic architecture. The combination of the figure of Christ and the "jeweled cross" reminds us of the Paschal Mystery.

To the rear and a little to the left of the altar is the cathedra, or chair of the Bishop. The name cathedral comes from this word and is the church where the Bishop's chair resides. The cathedral is the symbolic "center or first church" of the diocese and the Bishop's chair is the sign of his authority and pastoral leadership. The chair is made of red oak and the back of the chair is emblazoned with the Bishop's coat of arms, which is hand carved.

To the right of the altar platform is the Presider's chair. During the celebration of the Eucharist, this chair is occupied by the priest who leads the assembly in prayer. It is constructed of the same material as the Bishop's chair.

Located in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel to the left of the sanctuary, the Tabernacle occupies a place of dignity and reverence. This new chapel is bathed in the lovely light of the three tall lancet windows from St. Joachim's. This chapel provides everyone with the opportunity to pray or meditate before the Lord's Presence in a more intimate and quiet setting. The pedestal is made of the same beautiful woods as the other major pieces and provides a resting place for the lovely brass Tabernacle, which has been used in the church since its beginning. The Tabernacle is sheltered beneath a wrought iron canopy, which echoes the Gothic arches of the church and harmonizes with the sanctuary lamp and the other sanctuary candles.

To the right of the sanctuary is the Chapel of the Shrines, a space for people to do private devotions, recite rosaries and light candles. The statues of Joseph and Mary and the Mother of Perpetual Help picture are from the 1950s. As funding becomes available, a statue to Our Lady of Guadalupe and Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha will be included.

The organ is a Rodgers organ built for our parish. The console is meticulously handcrafted of hard wood and veneers. The organ was chosen for its superior sound. Many of its sounds are duplicates of the beautiful historic organ sounds of famous pipe organs in Europe.

The piano is a seven foot Young Chang Pramberger, which features a new soundboard design, and refinements to the soundboard ribs, bridges, and hammers, resulting in a very warm sound with great resonance and an extraordinarily responsive touch.