St. James Cathedral

This is not a review as, unfortunately, I have been unable to visit St James Cathedral. However, I have thoroughly enjoyed visiting the site and viewing almost everything there. I am Bishop Edward John O’Dea’s first cousin, twice removed as my grand father was his first cousin. I have been researching our family on my father’s side for 25 years and with a small amount of information I was able to receive stories from my grandfather’s younger brother as well as from the Archdiocese of Seattle some years ago. I recently found a book about early Catholics in the Northwest. The most interesting stories I have found were about the Bishop’s family leaving Boston and traveling from the Atlantic to the Carribbean experiencing fire and storm in the Sea. The family arrived at Colon, Panama and then traveled through the Isthmus of Panama on the French Railroad train and north by ship to Portland when he was a child. The interest of that time is because, my father, being his first cousin, once removed, was stationed near Colon with the US Navy during WWII, and then, later, I lived aboard the US Naval Station near Colon in 1955. Unfortunatley, I knew nothing of the information mentioned above. However, not knowing the history, I acquired pieces of the of the old French railroad ties from a friend who found them in the jungle and have them in use in my home. Even though I have not been able to visit the beautiful Cathedral, I feel very close to it when I visit on line once in awhile. I reccomend to anyone who will be visiting Seattle to visit this magnificent St James Cathedral and to enjoy the beauty and peacefulness it shares.

I’m not catholic and I’ve never been to a service here, but I love visiting this cathedral. It’s a beautiful and peaceful space to pray or just enjoy the art and architecture.

St James Cathedral is a community of prayer. My dad used to be an usher here. This is the closest church in my work. Beautiful and solemn church.

The Palm Sunday Children’s Mass was beautiful. The Children’s Choir was heavenly.

The cathedral is a wonderful place to worship with a rich history. I quote Fr. Michael Ryan by saying that the St. James community is welcoming of all people, whether you are a devout Catholic, skeptic, or non-​believer. After attending one of the weekly masses and throughly enjoying it, I brought my family to the Christmas Eve celebration. All aspects of the mass were excellent — the music, homily, everything. I suggest that you show up 2 hours early to this mass — and other «popular» ones — if you want good seating. If you arrive early with others, take turns leaving your seats and pay a visit to the new Pope John XXIII sculpture, Neri di Bicci’s «Sacra Conversazione,» or another of the magnificent treasures within the cathedral.

I first came to St. James Cathedral on my Rite of Continuing Conversion. The ceremony was special, beautiful, and smooth. The choir was so wonderful, and Archbishop Sartain spoke a meaningful homily.
The reason why I didn’t give the cathedral 5-​star is because a few months ago, I took my fiancé here to attend a weekday mass. Unfortunately, we could not hear ANYTHING that took place during mass. We didn’t get to hear the responsorial psalm and the priest’s homily. I think this had to do with the fact that there was something wrong with the speaker system on that day? All my fiancé and I heard was echoing sound from the microphone.
We will try to come back to the cathedral again in the near future, and we will believe that the issue would be resolved by then.

Absolutely beautiful serene cathedral that played an important role in Seattle history! Designated as the city landmark, St. James Cathedral was constructed in 1903 and was formerly Seattle’s tallest building. After the fall of its dome, the roof was reconstructed to have a skylight above the central altar, which created a majestic lighting upon the altar that seems to signify the Almighty’s grace upon this house of worship. The cathedral interior also has many beautiful stained glasses that describe the Ten Commandments and the life of Jesus and the serenely-​lit shrine dedicated to the Virgin.
We visited here as a family and was greeted by Corinna, a friendly church staff who gave us a wonderful and informative tour around the cathedral! Consider contacting her about a tour beforehand if you want to learn more about the cathedral, but even if you do come alone, this cathedral is definitely a wonderful sight that differs from the typical city sights in downtown and should not be missed!
*Parking is available in the high school lot behind the cathedral

A beautiful place to celebrate Mass on Sundays, but for non-​Catholics you can tour the facility and learn it’s history. A portion of the cathedral fell during an earthquake, and the pillars from that original part are standing along one wall. A new shrine to Pope John Paul II is along one wall. It’s a beautiful cathedral!
I attended Mass here & it was an experience. The readings & homily are delivered w/​their back to the congregation.
Come by for a visit, a tour or to pray. The choir is great and the service is very traditional. Make this a stop on your visit to Seattle. It rivals many European Cathedrals. x

Beautiful beautiful beautiful cathedral! I was in awe when I walked inside! Very old school choir feel, but the priest which spoke after the gospel was very capturing on his sermon. I’d come back if I visit Seattle again!

My girlfriend and I were in town and found this cathedral to attend on Sunday. It was such a great choice to pick this one out of all the available Catholic Churches in town.
Cathedral:
Just an absolutely beautiful Cathedral! The amount of detail was beautiful. There were many rooms in the building that were very unique that I had never seen before.
Service/​Mass:
The priest was very warm to outside visitors. The mass itself was great. The Deacon was there and talking about a recent trip to the Vatican.
Overall:
A fantastic place to visit if your in town or place to be a patron of.

Extremely beautiful! Love this place!

Beautiful, nice priests, good resources — didn’t attend a Mass. Great side chapels and 360 degree orientation. A bit out of the way location-​wise but nothing ridiculous. Weird statue of Bl. John XXIII, hopefully he’ll get a decent one when he is canonized… Will update later!

Although there are so many Catholic Churches near my house, I always prefer to go to St. James Cathedral. The architecture is beautiful and the church itself is very clean inside and out. Also, I like how the church provides ample parking for everyone.
I find the homily here more inspirational than other churches, as I never feel bored nor about to fall asleep. People are friendly and always rolling in late as well, so I don’t feel too much like a heathen for coming late

This cathedral from a photographers point of view is pretty amazing. The combination of a beautiful bride, wedding party and flowers only add to the great photos that this venue allows for. The staff were super helpful, which can be challenging for photographers in such a setting. I’m looking forward to shooting here again!

Gorgeous. Went to Midnight Mass for Christmas and learned a few things:
*arrive really early. At 10pm seating was full.
*get the handout and pay attention to it: all the words to songs are there.
*pews have a pull-​out kneeling bar. Maybe all Catholic churches have this (this is the only Catholic church I’ve been to).
*at one point, decorative stars cascade from the ceiling (Christmas service)
*when you’re supposed to greet someone with the sign of peace, shake their hand. I hugged someone instead. Heck.
*don’t expect to slap after or during songs or dance to the music. That doesn’t happen here and if you do, you’ll be the only one.
*the incense smells amazing, like oranges and spice.
Go next year!

Beautiful.
Great Acoustics for Early Music Guild concert.
Sat in discounted seats in the choir loft which provides great views and is better than the floor seating but a lot cheaper!

St. James is a beautiful catholic church. I’ve been attending masses since I was little. I loved it so so much that I knew I was going to get married here. And I did.
The architecture and details are just breathtaking. The altar stands in the middle of the church, so when it’s actually sunny out, the rays of sunshine beam down onto the altar.
The acoustics are phenomenal and adds to the musicality best when the choir’s angelic-​no pun intended-​voices echos and fills up the cathedral.
Father Ryan is such a great person, and we feel blessed that he married us.

This place is amazing! I’ve been here a few times for mass and can say it’s one of the most beautiful cathedrals I’ve seen in the United States. It has delicate details throughout and is nicely decorated around Christmas and Easter.
St. James hold a huge capacity so be sure to get there early to get a parking sort and try to get a seat towards the front of the church so you can hear better. To top things off, the choir is amazing and definitely adds to the experience.

An amazing place. In every way. From the leadership, to the community, right down to the many ministries that operate through it. Of course on an aesthetic level, it’s pretty amazing too… but I feel as though it takes all of those things combined, to really set it apart from others around the country & world. If you are visiting, or are looking for a church to visit. by all means, come here. You will be greeted with open arms and will surely experience God’s presence in this Cathedral.
Oh, and did you know that there’s a bookstore located in the courtyard? There is! Check it out… there’s so many unique and great gifts/​books/​cards/​sacramentals inside. They’re open 11am-​3pm on weekdays, and also after Mass on weekends.

The best of the best as far as churches go. Absolutely, the Greco-​Roman architecture of the cathedral is awe-​inspiring.
But what is more inspiring is the spirtual community of St. James, led by Father Michael Ryan.
Despite the less-​than-​inclusive-​less-​than-​tolerant message preached by Joe Ratzinger (a.k.a. Pope Benedict) and some other prominent Catholics, St. James is welcoming to all, including visitors.
For those of you interested in learning more about becoming Catholic, the RCIA program at St. James is an incredible spiritual journey.
St. James Cathedral truly is a holy place.