Church Domain

Church Domain. Jefferson National Expansion Memorial. The Old Cathedral in front of you is the first Roman Catholic cathedral west of the Mississippi and the fourth church building to stand on this site. Completed in 1834, it was a hub of Catholic expansion in the west in the mid-to late-1800s. American Indians visited here and missionaries traveled westward from here. Between 1826 and 1843, the Archdiocese of St. Louis included much of the land between the Mississippi River and the Pacific Ocean. , The Roman Catholic Church has owned this site since the founding of St. Louis in 1764. The Old Cathedral is the oldest surviving building on the waterfront and remains an active parish. , (photo captions:), ·The Old Cathedral withstood the Great Fire of 1849, attempted arson, and the city's urbanization. , ·The Archdiocese of St. Louis stretched to the Pacific Ocean to the mid-1800s. , (sidebar:), Old Cathedral Translations, A) "Yahweh" or "God" in Hebrew. , "Three persons in one God" in Latin, B) "My house will be called a house of prayer" , In English (left) and French (right)., C) "In honor of [Saint] Louis" and "Dedicated A.D. 1834" in Latin., D) "Behold the tabernacle of God with men, and He will dwell with them" , In English (left), Latin (middle) and French (right).