CELEBRATING OUR 175TH
“He Had a Reputation – Tough As Nails”
When the original St. James Church in Wheeling had fallen in disrepair, Bishop Whelan led the campaign for a new church to be constructed. A site was secured, and in 1847, a cornerstone laid for the parish that later became the Cathedral of St. Joseph.
But it wasn’t just his determination and administration that was so impressive, it was also his strength. It was Bishop Whelan that climbed more than 200 feet in the air to place a cross on top of the new spire at St. James’s after construction workers refused the dangerous task. In 1872, Bishop Whelan successfully appealed to Pope Pius IX to change the patronage of St. James to St. Joseph, reasoning that Joseph, the Terror of Demons and Guardian of the Redeemer, patron of the entire church, would further protect and strengthen the faithful of the Diocese of Wheeling.
