St Paul Cathedral gets ready to celebrate its Centennial

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The Cathedral of St. Paul is marking a monumental occasion this June - the 100th anniversary of the laying of its cornerstone. To help the cathedral celebrate, The Catholic Spirit will dedicate its entire May 3 issue to stories, facts and photos about this world-renowned spiritual and civic landmark.

As part of this milestone, the church is sponsoring the first-ever "Cathedral History Hunt," a trivia contest covering history, art and architecture.

The winner will have the privilege of standing with Father Joseph Johnson, cathedral rector, on June 2 to ring the original bell that hung in the second, third and present cathedral until 1987. A copy of the contest questions is available at www.cathedralsaintpaul.org.

Readers of The Catholic Spirit will get a leg up on the competition. Each week until May 3, we will feature one of the trivia questions along with the answer.

This week's question: "Two cardinals who went on to become popes have visited the cathedral. Name these two men as well as their papal names." (Click here for the answer.)

Watch for the May 3 issue for more information about the cathedral's anniversary, including the slate of events planned for June 1 to 3. Catholic Spirit

Some of you are no doubt aware that the Basilica of St Mary in Minneapolis was designed by the same architect as the Cathedral of St Paul, Emmanuel Louis Masqueray, and built about the same time. The Basilica will begin its centennial observations with its Summer Block Party right after the Fourth of July, plans a Solemn Eucharist and Picnic in August, a St Francis Festival in October, Centennial Vespers on All Souls Day on November 2, Patronal Feast Festivities on and around December 8, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, and big events in the year 2008. Watch for further announcements.