This is the website of the Cathedral Parish in Madison, Wisconsin.

We use “isthmus catholic” in our address because Madison is the only American city built on an isthmus (...which is, as we all remember from fifth grade, a neck of land between two bodies of water...like Panama).

Madison was founded on a little neck of land between Lake Mendota and Lake Monona. Today the isthmus is just "downtown Madison" – a small but endlessly entertaining part of the whole city, and home of the Cathedral Parish.

In the nineteenth century, when the isthmus contained the entire City of Madison, three parishes to serve local Catholics were built within three blocks of the Capitol Square: St. Raphael Cathedral, Holy Redeemer and St. Patrick.

On July 1, 2008, those three parishes were merged into a single community, which we fondly call “the Cathedral Parish.”

The emphasis is on “parish” because we're sort of "between cathedral buildings" at the moment.

In March 2005, historic St. Raphael Cathedral was destroyed by arson. On June 10, 2007, Bishop Robert Morlino of Madison announced his intention to build a new and larger Cathedral of St. Raphael on the site of the original building. Until that project is completed, the Cathedral Parish will continue to use the facilities of Holy Redeemer and St. Patrick.

Thanks for visiting our website. If this is your first introduction to our parish, we hope that we will see you in person soon.