The Cathedral of St. Paul (St. Paul, Minnesota)

As first time visitors to St. Paul and with limited time to see all the highlights, a trip to The Cathedral of St. Paul (an active and fully functioning catholic church) was high on our list of "must see's" . After visiting the capitol, we took a short drive down the street and stepped into a world of architectural grandeur rife with stained glass windows, depictions of angelic choirs, a bronze baldachin of Saint Paul, a rose window, and so much more, that to try to take everything in during one visit was nigh impossible. Along with statues of the four evangelists in the four corners of its main pier, the cathedral also has six chapels dedicated to the patron saints of the European ethnic groups that settled the area around the city. There are also chapels dedicated to the Sacred Heart, St. Mary, and St. Joseph. The city name of St. Paul is actually derived from the title of this great building, and it isn't hard to see why. One of the most distinctive cathedrals in the United States, it sits on Cathedral Hill overlooking downtown St. Paul and features a distinctive copper-clad dome. It is the third largest completed church in the United States, and the fourth tallest. On March 25, 2009 it was designated as the National Shrine of the Apostle Paul by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Vatican. Our earnest attempt to capture this treasure in photographs doesn't do it justice, but here are the highlights just the same.