The Roman Catholic St. Mary's Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption in Covington, Kentucky, is a minor basilica in the United States. Construction of the cathedral began under the Diocese of Covington's third bishop, Camillus Paul Maes, in 1895 to replace an 1834 frame church that was inadequate for the growing congregation. Pope Pius XII elevated the cathedral to the rank of minor basilica on December 8, 1953.
The sanctuary was designed by the Detroit architect Leon Coquard and is inspired by the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. Services were first held in 1901, with the Madison Avenue façade, designed by the local architect David Davis, added between 1908 and 1910. The cathedral project terminated in 1915, although it remains incomplete to this day with the planned towers unbuilt.
The restoration of the cathedral earned a 2002 Preservation Award from the Cincinnati Preservation Association. For the interior restoration, the Conrad Schmitt Studios of New Berlin, Wisconsin, cleaned the stone ribs, tracery and walls. Studio artists also restored plaster and select faux stone painting.
The interior of St. Mary's Basilica Cathedral was modeled after Basilica of St. Denis in Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis, in France. It contains murals by the American artist Frank Duveneck. The high altar was carved from Carrara marble. The floors are covered with Rosata and Breche marble.
The cathedral has two pipe organs, along with a one-manual, 20-rank portable organ for use in various parts of the sanctuary.
The south transept gallery holds the four-manual Willis pipe organ. It was designed by Henry Willis III at the Wicks Organ Company of Highland, Illinois. This organ was blessed on February 12, 1933. The original pipe organ had a three-manual console with 43 ranks of pipes. However, the Aultz-Kersting Pipe Organ Company of Cincinnati renovated the Willis pipe organ in 1982 and enlarged it to four-manuals with 65 ranks.
The west transept gallery holds the two-manual Schwab organ. It was originally built for St. Joseph Church in Covington in 1858 by Mathias Schwab of Cincinnati, Ohio. When St. Joseph was razed in 1970, the diocese moved the Schwab organ to St Mary's. It was altered to fit the new gallery, but it retained the original mechanical key and stop actions, ivory keyboards and faux-grained casework. The Schwab pipe organ contains 21 ranks.
The cathedral contains at . stained glass window in the north transept. Installed in 1911, the window was created by Mayer and Company of Munich, Germany. It was fully restored in 2001.
The cathedral exterior is constructed of Bedford stone, with the roofs are covered with red Ludowici tile. The structure measures , and the nave reaches a height of . Four additional statues reside on niches located on the front buttresses of the cathedral. From north to south they depict the following saints:
In June 2021, the diocese installed 24 statues in the empty niches at the main entrance of the cathedral, completing the original plan for its façade. They were designed by the American artist Neilson Carlin. Each statute honors parishes and institutions located within the diocese. The statues were sculpted from Bedford stone. They include the following saints:
From left to right, the eight additional statues depict the following saints:
A tympanum of the Coronation of Mary is located above the southernmost doors.of the cathedral From left to right, the statues depict the following saints:
A tympanum depicting the Assumption of Mary sits above the central doors, with a statue of Mary presiding between them.