Madison’s St. Bernard Church is undergoing a $15 million renovation to convert the nearly century-old church into a new cathedral for the Catholic Diocese of Madison, Wisconsin Public Radio reports. The project is set to be completed by late 2025.
For the last nearly 20 years, Catholics in the 11-county diocese have been without a cathedral after Madison’s St. Raphael Cathedral was destroyed by an arsonist in 2005. A cathedral serves as the seat of a bishop who leads a diocese.
The Vatican has approved the conversion of the church just east of the Capitol — a more economical approach than a new construction. The project must retain some of the building’s original materials as St. Bernard, built in 1927, is considered a historical landmark.
