Architexas Reflects on The History of Cathedral Guadalupe Following National Shrine Designation

By Craig Melde
Senior Principal, Architexas

The Cathedral Santuario de Guadalupe was recently granted the prestigious designation of a National Shrine. This sacred place met the requirements prescribed in the norms for the Designation of National Shrines and its honor given by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in recognition of religious significance.

Acknowledging this significant designation, Architexas took the time to sit down with its team that restored the Cathedral and reflect on its impressive 121-year history. Craig Melde, senior principal at Architexas, looks back on Cathedral Guadalupe as “the most meaningful project he has ever done in 46 years of architecture.”

The History of Cathedral Guadalupe

The 1890 Diocese of Dallas needed a place to call home. A new cathedral was proposed in 1902 by Bishop Thomas Brennan. The architect chosen to design the cathedral, Nicholas J. Clayton, is regarded as the greatest Victorian architect Texas has ever known. Clayton designed a magnificent and powerful Gothic Revival cathedral enriched with brick and stone embellishment and large stained glass rose windows. The interior also included a Gothic Revival design with a beamed ceiling and stenciled coffers. A Gothic-designed high altar was the focal point.

The Cathedral has been through several renovations throughout its 121-year history. The first major renovation was in 1966, after the Second Vatican Council. It was modernized, simplifying the interior architectural design and removing or covering many of the original Gothic features. The interior changes included painting over the ceiling stencil work and a complete renovation of the chancel. The ornate high altar and reredos were removed and reportedly left on the Ross Avenue Street curb.

In the 1970s, other diocesan parishes were built in the suburbs of Dallas, and attendance at the cathedral decreased while the neighboring Our Lady of Guadalupe parish had outgrown their facility. In 1977, instead of building a new and larger Our Lady of Guadalupe parish, the diocese decided to merge the parish with the Sacred Heart Cathedral. The Sacred Heart Cathedral was renamed to Cathedral Santuario de Guadalupe.

A Restoration Plan For Cathedral Guadalupe

In 1998, the diocese and cathedral saw a need for a renovation for a growing Catholic community and renewal of the historic character it once had. Architexas, a renowned Texas architecture firm specializing in historic preservation and restoration, was hired in 2000. They prepared a Restoration Master Plan for the cathedral and asked Charles Tapley, an architect with extensive Catholic church experience, to join the team.

The goal of the cathedral and the Dallas diocese was to reverse the design from the 1960s and return the Cathedral to its former architectural character. The master plan included the renovation and enlargement of the chancel with a design more appropriate to the original historic Gothic character. The design included new Gothic-style liturgical furnishings, a new altar, and a new ambo. The Architexas team flew to Italy in 2001 to select the marble, and the carving team to build the new altar and ambo.

Blessed by The Pope

A significant element in the cathedral’s chancel was a large tapestry of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Members of the parish struggled to part with the large tapestry in the renovation plans. To comfort the members of the parish, a new, smaller image of Our Lady of Guadalupe was commissioned and taken by Father Ramon and the Dallas Diocese to Italy to be blessed by Pope John Paul II. The new image was placed in a carved stone reredos in the chancel.

Finishing a Master Architect’s Work

When the cathedral opened its doors as Sacred Heart Cathedral in 1902, the cathedral architecture was a masterfully executed Gothic Revival design. The original design by Nicholas Clayton included plans for a stunning bell tower and steeple, but the cathedral had run low on funding during construction and could not complete the tower and steeple.

Architexas was hired again in 2004 to complete Clayton’s design, finally adding the bell tower and steeple. The team visited the Blake Alexander Architectural Archive at the University of Texas at Austin and found copies of the original historical drawings. There was only one drawing that included the original bell tower to refer to, but it was an excellent guide to understanding Clayton’s vision. Design of the brick and stone details, structural design, and installation of a 49-bell carillon, in Clayton’s vision, required a creative interpretation and extensive knowledge of Gothic Revival architecture.

The completed bell tower and the cathedral are a valued asset to the downtown Dallas experience.

It was truly an honor to finish the exterior cathedral, bell tower, and steeple 107 years after ground was first broken at the site