The Chapel of Saint Paul, which later served as the first Cathedral of Saint Paul, was a log chapel built in 1840 by Lucien Galtier. It would serve as the first cathedral of the Diocese of Saint Paul from June 1851 to December 1851.
In 1840, Catholic missionary Lucien Galtier was sent by Bishop Mathias Loras of Dubuque to minister to the French Canadians in Minnesota.[1] Galtier built two log chapels; one named after Saint Peter built in Mendota. Seeking a suitable spot for a chapel on the other side of the river, Galtier looked at several claims offered to him but found them unsuitable; one was so low to the river that Galtier quipped "the idea of having the church swept down to St. Louis one day" didn't please him. He looked for a location that was protected from the elements but still close enough to the river that steamboats could land and communication with other settlers along the river was possible.[2] The location decided upon was the bluff above the "Pig's Eye" riverboat landing downriver from Fort Snelling.[a] The chapel, dedicated to the Apostle Paul, was built in October 1941 using red and white oak logs secured by wooden pins. Bark-covered slabs created the roof of the 20 feet (6.1 m) by 18 feet (5.5 m) building.[4][2][5][6]: 43 It cost around $65 ($2,381 in 2023) to build.[5] It was dedicated on November 1, 1841. The chapel was the first house of worship to be erected within the current city limits.[6]: 43–44 Galtier remarked that the chapel called to mind the "stable of Bethlehem".[2]
While it is said that the area had up until that point been referred to as "Pig's Eye" or "Pig's Eye Landing" after the tavern of settler Pierre "Pig's Eye" Parrant, the landing by the chapel gradually became named known as "Saint Paul's Landing". Through this the name of the chapel gradually was applied to the entire settlement.[7][8][9] The name Saint Paul was then first used in official records at the marriage of Vetel and Adele Guerin on January 26, 1841.[10]A poem published in the Minnesota Pioneer on New Years Day, 1850, concluded:
When one great city covers all
The ground from Pig's Eye to the Falls
I then will claim Saint Paul for mine
The child of 1949.
Pig's Eye, converted, thou shalt be like Saul,
Arise; and be henceforth—Saint Paul![9][11]
While the last few lines of the poem have been attributed to Galtier as a speech at the dedication Mass of the chapel, the poem has been more commonly attributed to newspaper editor James M. Goodhue.[5][12][13][7]
In 1847, Father Augustin Ravoux later enlarged the structure, adding another eighteen feet. When Joseph Crétin was appointed as the bishop of the newly established Diocese of St. Paul in July 1851, the log chapel became the first cathedral.[6]: 43–44 Dismayed at the size of the building, Crétin said the chapel was "worse than a stable" and began construction on a new building.[14]: 48 The chapel would only serve in the role of cathedral for a few months, as the larger, second cathedral took its place in December 1851.[15][16][6]: 77
The chapel was dismantled in 1856. It is thought that some of the logs were used in the construction of buildings at Saint Joseph's Academy.[6]: 48
^Carole Zellie; Garneth Peterson (May 2001). St. Paul Historic Context Studies(PDF) (Report). St. Paul Heritage Preservation Commission. p. 3. Retrieved November 27, 2024. Galtier's construction of the Chapel of St. Paul (on Second [Bench] Street, between Cedar and Minnesota) provided a new name for the settlement.
