Lake Charles Cathedral celebrates centennial with an altar from Utah

Courtesy photo/Sally Foret

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The Carrara marble altar in the Cathedral of Immaculate Conception in Lake Charles, La., was originally purchased for the Cathedral of the Madeleine's dedication on Aug. 13, 1909. 

SALT LAKE CITY — Gary Topping, Diocese of Salt Lake City archivist, received an email in March asking for information about the large Carrara marble altar that the Diocese of Salt Lake City sold in 1922 to Immaculate Conception Parish in Lake Charles, La., now called the Cathedral of Immaculate Conception, Lake Charles.

The request for information came as the parish celebrates Louisiana’s bicentennial this year and prepares for the centennial anniversary of the parish in 2013, said Topping.

The Gothic-style altar with the four Evangelists had been in storage for five years before the Louisiana parish bought it, Topping said.

The three-piece altar originally was purchased for $8,958.55 in Carrara, Italy, and was installed in time for the Cathedral of the Madeleine’s dedication on Aug. 13, 1909 by the Right Rev. Lawrence Scanlan, the diocese’s first bishop.

"His successor, Bishop Joseph S. Glass, had a very different idea of what the cathedral should look like – he liked a lot more color than the green and white that was in the cathedral," Topping said. "So, during World War I, he redecorated the cathedral as we see it today, with the exception of the chancel and the altar, which were installed in the restoration during the 1990s."

In 1917, Bishop Glass removed the Carrara marble altar. He also had the stained glass windows in the sanctuary taken out, plastered the holes and had murals painted where they had been, Topping said.

"He took all five of the windows out and replaced two of them with windows that were of a much more abstract design and took apart the three marble altars and installed a much simpler altar with the Johannes Kirchmayer woodwork reredos (the screen behind the altar)," Topping explained.

The marble altar was sold to the Lake Charles parish for $5,000, said Topping. "They initially put down $2,500 and paid $500 each year until it was paid off. They learned about the altar from Paul Zimmerman, an Immaculate Conception parishioner who was related to Bishop Glass."

When the altar was dismantled, the parts apparently weren’t labeled, so when it got to Lake Charles they had to assemble it without really knowing what it looked like, Topping said.

"They found an Immaculate Conception parishioner, Floyd Soleri from Carrara, Italy, to assemble the altar," Topping said, adding that Soleri had a heck of a time assembling each piece weighing tons. "It was like assembling a jigsaw puzzle."

In 1913 Immaculate Conception Parish was built in Lake Charles, La. The old church was destroyed by the Great Fire of 1910, said Ann Romero, a parishioner of 56 years and a pastoral council member.

"The fellow (Soleri) who was hired to put in the altar initially refused the job because he thought it was impossible," Romero said. "He came to the United States with his father, who was a marble worker in Carrara, Italy. Our pastor prevailed, however, and Soleri asserts working on the project for a year."

Because the parts weren’t labeled, the side altars aren’t symmetrical, said Romero.

"We now have one panel with the lilies and one panel with the Sacred Heart on the sides of the altar," she said. "Saint Joseph doesn’t seem to mind. There is a question as to whether they were originally designed that way. But, I could talk all day about this. I’m already making people avoid me for fear of hearing yet another fact I’ve discovered about the cathedral. I believe I can say that our marble altars are the true aesthetic centerpieces of the church. Little did I know it would become my obsession for the next six months!"