Saint Augustine Cathedral
Cathedral · Tucson · Tucson & the Sky Islands
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Cathedral of Saint Augustine is the mother church of the Catholic Diocese of Tucson, located downtown.
The cathedral traces back to the Presidio San Agustin del Tucson, established in 1776 with its own small chapel, when the town was still a Spanish frontier outpost. The brick building that stands today went up in 1896 and 1897, and Pope Leo XIII named it the seat of the new Diocese of Arizona that same year. In 1928 the diocese added the ornate cast stone facade, designed in the Mexican baroque style of the Queretaro Cathedral in Mexico. The interior was completely rebuilt between 1966 and 1968, and a restoration finished in February 2011 replaced the lighting, sound system, flooring, and exterior stonework after more than a year of work costing over a million dollars.
What you see
The cast stone facade is carved with saguaro and yucca blossoms, a horned lizard, and other desert wildlife, along with a relief of Mission San Xavier del Bac, standing in for the saints a Mexican baroque church front usually carries.
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Common questions
- Why stop at Saint Augustine Cathedral on a bike ride?
- Cathedral of Saint Augustine is the mother church of the Catholic Diocese of Tucson, located downtown.
- Where is Saint Augustine Cathedral?
- Saint Augustine Cathedral is in Tucson, Tucson & the Sky Islands (Arizona, United States).