By Father James Bramlage

"Strange noises are reported to be emanating from the columns of the old cathedral," Msgr. Edward McCarthy wrote to Bishop Clarence Issenmann, Cincinnati’s auxiliary bishop, during the period of the old cathedral’s restoration some 50 years ago.

Workmen had reported this strange phenomenon to Msgr. McCarthy, and in response he ventured into the cluttered construction site in the quiet of the night to investigate. But all was quiet. No strange noises. The ghosts of the old cathedral made no protests during his visit.

A building more than a 160 years of age is bound to have some mysteries associated with its history and secrets that it keeps. St. Peter in Chains Cathedral is no exception. The "strange noises" reported during its restoration is only one of them.

There is also the mystery of the missing cornerstone. Records clearly attest to the laying of the original cornerstone on May 20, 1841. The Catholic Telegraph describes the event witnessed by "a vast concourse" that had gathered for the event, presided over by Bishop John Baptist Purcell.

Even the contents of the cornerstone are enumerated. Yet when the restoration work began on the cathedral in the 1950s, no trace of the cornerstone could be found. Cornerstones are not generally placed where they can never be found!

In deciding to restore the old cathedral to its status as Metropolitan Cathedral Church shortly after his arrival in Cincinnati, Archbishop Karl Alter expressed some surprise that there were so few artifacts of any real value at the old cathedral. Surely there must have been "treasures" accumulated over its nearly 100 years as Cincinnati’s cathedral. Where had they gone? He asked his chancellor, Msgr. Paul Leibold, to investigate.

Msgr. Leibold wrote to the cathedral’s former pastors, Msgr. William Anthony and Father Carl Goeckeler, and delicately asked if they had any information that they would like to share with the archbishop.

Father Goeckeler responded matter-of-factly. "May I state that I possess only one thing originally at the cathedral, a chalice, which was given to me by Archbishop McNicholas…not of any value."

But he also acknowledges that certain items were in his possession: a tabernacle given to Bishop Fenwick by Pope Leo XII in 1826, Archbishop Purcell’s desk, candlesticks and a processional cross used by Archbishop Purcell, "which to anyone but a fool like me, had little value," Msgr. Anthony wrote.

"…I was rather amazed when I became the pastor of the Old Cathedral that there was really nothing of value there after nearly a hundred years," Father Goeckeler wrote to Msgr. Leibold. "One would think that surely over such a long period of time, a church of such prominence would amass a treasury of art, etc."

Perhaps items of value were sold off to help pay for the bankruptcy settlement that plagued the last years of Archbishop Purcell’s life, but if so, no list of such items or their value has ever been found, and the poverty of the old cathedral remains a mystery.

And then there is the mystery of the unfinished angel. High above the stately Corinthian columns an unbroken line of angels looks down upon the congregation from both sides. Each is identical to its neighbor except for one. A discerning eye (perhaps of a worshiper looking for something to interest him during the homily) might notice that the intricate gold decoration that adorns all of the other angels is missing from one. Was it intentional, or is it the result of a careless artist?

Tour guides tell visitors that it was intentional; from medieval times, when cathedrals took a hundred years or more to complete, there was always something yet to be finished. So while St. Peter in Chains looks every bit a finished cathedral, one little angel attests to the tradition by remaining unfinished.

Following a fire in 1998 that caused smoke damage throughout the cathedral necessitating a thorough cleaning and touch-up work, painters noticed that the decoration was missing from one of the angels.

Should they add the missing gold embellishment?

No, they were told. "It’s meant to be unfinished."