Cathedral of Mary of the Assumption (Saginaw, Michigan)

Cathedral of Mary of the Assumption
Location in Michigan
43°25′33″N 83°56′12″W / 43.4258°N 83.9367°W / 43.4258; -83.9367Coordinates: 43°25′33″N 83°56′12″W / 43.4258°N 83.9367°W / 43.4258; -83.9367
Location	615 Hoyt Ave. Saginaw, Michigan
Country	United States
Denomination	Roman Catholic Church
History
Founded	1853
Dedicated	July 23, 1903
Architecture
Style	Gothic Revival
Groundbreaking	1901
Completed	1903
Specifications
Materials	Brick
Administration
Diocese	Diocese of Saginaw
Clergy
Bishop(s)	Most Rev. Joseph R. Cistone
Rector	Rev. Andrew Booms

The Cathedral of Mary the Assumption, also known as St. Mary’s Cathedral, is a Catholic cathedral located in Saginaw, Michigan, United States. It is the seat of the Diocese of Saginaw.

St. Mary’s parish was founded in 1853 by the Rev. Henry J. H. Schutjes as a mission of St. Joseph parish in Bay City. The first church building was dedicated the same year and the second church building was built ten years later. St. Mary’s became a parish in 1866 and the Rev. Francis T. Van der Bom was named the first pastor. In 1868 the parish's first school opened in a two-room schoolhouse. Four sisters from the congregation of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary from Monroe taught in the school.

St. Joseph Parish in Saginaw was founded from St. Mary's in 1873 and the German parishioners founded Sacred Heart the following year. Father Van der Bom and Dr. Benjamin B. Ross organized St. Mary’s Hospital, which was staffed by four Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, in 1874. Because the other two parishes took parishioners from St. Mary's the enrollment in the school dropped and the Immaculate Heart of Mary sisters left the parish in 1875. The second parish school, named St. Mary Academy, was built in 1878. It was staffed by the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods. In 1886 the Polish families of the parish established Holy Rosary Mission in East Saginaw. The French parishioners established Holy Family Parish in 1892.

Construction on the present church began in 1901 and it was completed in 1903. The third church building to house the parish was dedicated on July 23, 1903. The Sisters of Providence left St. Mary's Academy in 1907 and deeded the property to the Bishop of Grand Rapids. They were replaced by the Dominican Sisters from Grand Rapids. Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish was established in 1913 by 120 Italian families from the parish. A new school building was completed in 1920.