St. Stephen Cathedral

St. Stephen Cathedral, established in 1839, was the first parish in the city of Owensboro. The present church was built in 1924 and remains the largest Catholic Church and parish in the city. Membership is approximately 600 households. In the early years of Daviess County priests would celebrate Mass in the homes of the settlers. The first church dedicated to St. Stephen in Owensboro was built in 1839 and the Rev. John C. Wathen was appointed the parish’s first pastor. As the town and parish continued to grow a larger church was needed and so a second church was built on the same site as the first in 1856. The present church was built on Locust Street between 1924–1926. On December 9, 1937 Pope Pius XII established the Diocese of Owensboro.[2] St. Stephen’s was chosen as the new diocese’s cathedral. The first Bishop of Owensboro, Francis Ridgley Cotton, was consecrated in St. Stephen’s Cathedral on February 24, 1938.