St. Mary's of the Seven Sorrows Catholic Church

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Listed in the National Register of Historic Places

Nashville’s oldest downtown church, St. Mary’s is the first permanent Roman Catholic Church built in Tennessee. Once credited to William Strickland, it is now attributed to Adolphis Heiman. The church was completed in 1847 in the Greek Revival style and served as the cathedral of Nashville until 1914 when the Cathedral of the Incarnation was built. During the Civil War, it was the last church converted into a military hospital, holding regular services until the Battle of Nashville in December 1864. Reverend Richard Pius Miles, the first bishop of Nashville, bought the land on which it sits for $4,400 and continued to raise the $47,000 necessary for construction. He is buried in a side chapel of the church. Asmus and Clark were the architects for a major remodeling in 1926. Among several twentieth century priests is Nashville-born Cardinal Samuel A. Stritch who, at that time, served as Chancellor of the diocese and later as Archbishop of Chicago. He became the first American appointed to the Roman curia by the Pope.