Begun as a parish church in 1968, St Joseph was named the cathedral for the Diocese of Jefferson City, Missouri in 1974. The circular temple form has been part of sacred architecture since ancient times. As a symbol of the infinite God, this form was used in a Modern style at the Cathedral of St Joseph but with the unfortunate Modernist use of secular forms and details not clearly expressing the Catholic identity of this seat of the Bishop.
The original architect's design intent included a recessed sanctuary apse, but limitations of structural technology at the time prompted the parish to abandon this form. We found a way to revive this intent in the redesigned interior. We were tasked with beautifying the cathedral through incorporation of more sacred elements. Mr Heyer recommended a new portico and bell towers, new shrines & new flooring, and new artwork throughout in natural materials to add to the monumentality and beauty a cathedral deserves.
This results in a unified vision for the numerous artists and craftspeople involved from Missouri, Kansas, Indiana, Ohio, Minnesota, Ireland, Germany, Spain & Italy.
