Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception (Lake Charles, Louisiana)
The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception is a Catholic cathedral located in Lake Charles, Louisiana, United States. It is the seat of the Diocese of Lake Charles. Immaculate Conception Parish was established in 1869, and it became a cathedral in 1980. The church building, rectory, and a garage are listed together on the National Register of Historic Places. The cathedral church enshrines a century-old image of the Blessed Virgin Mary of the Immaculate Conception made of Carrara marble. The venerated image was granted a Canonical coronation by Pope Benedict XVI via Pontifical decree signed in 2012. The coronation was presided by Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, Apostolic Nuncio to the United States, on August 22, 2013. A full church renovation project was completed in 2019. History St. Francis de Sales was the first Catholic church in Lake Charles. It was built in 1858 as a mission chapel. The parish was organized in 1869 under the same name and it received its first resident priest at that time. The church was damaged by a hurricane in 1879 and the parish decided to build a new building. The parish was renamed Immaculate Conception at that time, and the new church building was completed