April 21, 2026, marks the 100th anniversary of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston’s Cathedral of St. Joseph. It marks not only the passing of time, but also a century of faith in a sacred space designed to teach, inspire, and reveal the presence of God.
Thanks to ongoing renovations to its structure, it stands as it was intended to be – a divine House of God, where stone, light, and sacred art come together to draw every soul who enters a little closer to heaven.
“There are Cathedrals in the country larger and more expensive, but St. Joseph’s Cathedral in Wheeling, according to expert judgement, is the most beautifully proportioned and most artistically executed of all,” stated the souvenir guide of Saint Joseph Cathedral, from the consecration celebrations on April 21, 1926.
The present cathedral is the second to be located on the site. The first was originally called St. James Church, built in 1847 under the direction of Bishop of Richmond, Richard Vincent Whelan. It became a cathedral and Whelan the first bishop of Wheeling, Virginia, when the Diocese of Wheeling was established in 1850 by Blessed Pope Pius IX. Whelan successfully petitioned the Holy See to approve the name of the cathedral be changed. So, in 1872 it and the diocese would be under the patronage of St. Joseph, Guardian of the Redeemer, the perfect model of Christian living, Bishop Whelan would say.
Bishop Patrick Donahue, who before his death in 1922, declared the need for the severely deteriorating St. Joseph Cathedral to be razed and rebuilt. As fate would have it a year later in 1923, a fire devastated the cathedral. This damage and age of the building made it unsalvageable.
The Fourth Bishop of Wheeling, John J. Swint, would now oversee the construction of a new church for the growing diocese to “stand for hundreds of years, to be a beautiful legacy. A church, to be a real church, must not only conform to the material requirements, but it must have a character, a certain spirit or soul.”
Bishop Swint had a vision for the cathedral inspired by his predecessors and pilgrimages to Europe.
Bishop Swint entrusted a young but proven architect from Pittsburgh, Edward J. Weber, to take on the project. Weber was involved with every aspect of the design that went into the building. He had an impressive track record and was no stranger to the diocese. Weber designed Immaculate Conception Church in Clarksburg and Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Bluefield. Both have celebrated their 100th anniversaries in 1925, and 1924 respectively.
Weber was indeed an artist grounded in his Catholic faith and his projects reflected this.
All are not poets who can sing like David, nor writers like St. Thomas of Aquin; theirs was one way of glorifying God, but other ways are at hand and every person, no matter how humble, can worship the Lord with artistic churches by cultivating a desire for them and making the effort to obtain them. Let us then – all of us who are really interested – make an effort for better church architecture; let us encourage men of talent to make this a life-work and, like the bishops, kings and builders of Medieval times, let us patronize those who would clothe in beauty of form and color the house of divine worship. -Edward Joseph Weber
The Diocese of Wheeling’s cathedral was designed in the Lombard-Romanesque style with easily recognizable round arch dome. This style was guided by Bishop Swint reminiscent of the grand cathedrals he admired in Italy, particularly the Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence.
As in tradition of the early Church, Bishop Swint and Weber collaborated to bring to life a cathedral to teach, inspire, and symbolize the Catholic faith and the reality of heaven. It is after all the house of God created for His glory. The whole project would cost about $500,000. The floorplan is in the shape of the Cross. The limestone exterior was quarried in Indiana. The interior marble is from Italy, Greece, Spain, and France, specifically rose tavernelle, botticino, jasper, and Belgian black among others, specifically selected by Weber.
In 1924, Bishop Swint placed the cornerstone for the present-day cathedral, which is etched with “AMDG” – Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (For the greater glory of God).
The general contractor for the job was R.R. Kitchen Construction of Wheeling; the stone and wood carver, Frank Aretz of Pittsburgh; muralist was Felix. B. Lieftuchter, of Cincinnati; and the stained-glass artist was George W. Sotter of Bucks County, Pa.
Lieftuchter painted powerful visual and spiritual elements inside of the cathedral, focused on symbolism over realism. Walking into the nave (main body of the church) faithful can feel as if they were walking towards Heaven with Christ’s arms outstretched, drawing us close, surrounded by nine choirs of angels and saints – visual theology.
“The paintings blend perfectly (centering attention to) the apse mural – a monumental figure of Christ the Cristus Pancreator (Creator of all things) and reminds us of Psalm 9:8-9 – ‘But the Lord sits enthroned forever’,” wrote Thomas W. Forrest in an April 25, 1983, thesis for Wheeling Jesuit College about the cathedral and medieval architecture.
“He is set up His throne for judgement,” Forrest wrote. “He judges the world with justice; He governs the people with equity. He is not portrayed as the Divine Teacher, but rather as the Christ longing for His people, a judge yes, but a compassionate one.”
He noted Sotter’s stained-glass adds “divine order and glory” to the sacred atmosphere depicting scenes of the life of St. Joseph and the Old Testament foreshadowing Christ’s life. When the sunlight shines through these works of art it brings in “a touch of heaven into God’s House.”
The Holy of Holies, the cathedral’s sanctuary, is the most sacred space in the cathedral designed to give grace and beauty where Mass is celebrated and where the priest and faithful meet God in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist.
The tabernacle bears the inscription “Ecce Panis Angelorum” (translated to Behold the Bread of Angels), a fitting statement for the “sacred heart of the cathedral,” Forrest wrote.
Forrest described Aretz’s carving work as a “sermon in stone.”
The cathedra, bishop’s chair, was carved by Aretz with symbols Saints Peter Paul, Christ’s Passion, and the symbols of the evangelists: Matthew, a winged man; Mark, a winged lion; Luke, a winged ox; and John, an eagle, emphasizing the bishop’s role as teacher of the Gospel. Inscribed is “Dominus Petra mea, et Robur meum, et Salvator meus,” translated is “The Lord is my rock, my strength, and my savior” (Psalm 18:3). The cathedra is what makes a church a cathedral to symbolize the office of bishop and his authority as a successor of the apostles for the local church (diocese).
Every inch is purposeful. Every detail to assure the Presence of God.
On April 21, 1926, the new Cathedral of St. Joseph was consecrated and stood as Bishop Swint would say, “symbolic of all the Catholic Church stands for” in West Virginia.
Today, as it did 100 years ago, the Cathedral of St. Joseph stands as a visible sign of faith that was built and maintained for the glory of God and as enduring as the spiritual heart of the true faithful within the diocese.
