Holy Cross Church, Boston

[2] As this arrangement proved inadequate and the lease on the chapel was about to expire, in March 1799 a committee was appointed and charged with raising funds for the purchase of a building site and the procurement of plans for a proper church.

The minutes of the building committee report "the thanks of the whole Society were voted and desired to be offered to Mr. James [sic] Bulfinch, Esq., for his kindness to the Congregation in having supplied us with a very elegant plan for our new Church, and such as united decency and ornament with economy and having shown himself a friend and Patron to us.

"[6] President John Adams headed the list of non-Catholic donors, which included such Bulfinch patrons as Joseph Coolidge, Jonathan Mason, Stephen Higginson, Harrison Gray Otis, and Elias Hasket Derby of Salem.

Contemporary sources describe the church as being in the "Italian Renaissance" style, a designation prompted by placement of the cupola on a line with the front elevation and the use of a pair of Baroque consoles to conceal the pitch of the roof.

[7][8][9] It is uncertain whether the design of Holy Cross derived from London examples such as St Martin, Ludgate, or came directly from the architect’s memory of Roman churches he had seen, and possibly sketched, in 1786: Santo Spirito in Sassia and Santa Maria Vallicella.

The last Mass, at which Bishop Fitzpatrick was reportedly too overcome with sadness to speak, was celebrated there on September 16, 1860[1] as sale of the site was underway and planning began for a new cathedral;[10] demolition took place around 1862.

It reads: "Near this site stood THE CATHEDRAL OF THE HOLY CROSS, established 1803 by Jean Lefebvre de Cheverus, First Catholic Bishop of Boston; Missionary to the Penobscot Indians; Friend of President John Adams; Advisor to our State Legislature; One of America’s noblest priests.