Cathedral of Saint Peter

The Cathedral of Saint Peter is the mother church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Belleville, located in Belleville, Illinois. The cathedral parish of Saint Peter was founded in 1842 at a location east of the present structure, and named after Saint Barnabas the Apostle; it was rededicated to Saint Peter in 1847. By 1863, the need was recognized for a larger structure. A brick church was built on the cathedral's present site, and dedicated in 1866. In 1887, Pope Leo XIII created the Diocese of Belleville from the southern portion of the Diocese of Alton (now the Diocese of Springfield) and named Reverend John Janssen as the first bishop. Janssen chose St. Peter's as his cathedral. On January 4, 1912, neighborhood children noticed a fire in the upper portion of the building around 6 p.m. Although they arrived quickly, firefighters were hampered in their efforts to extinguish the blaze by a lack of water pressure to reach the 80 ft (24 m) roof and the bitter 15 °F (−9 °C) temperatures. Water company officials blamed the poor water pressure on a broken valve at the water station. Soon, the fire burned through the roof timbers, which fell and ignited other parts of the structure. When the fire was extinguished, all that remained were the exterior walls and bell tower. One local newspaper estimated the damage at US$100,000 and said that insurance would cover only $40,000 of the repairs.