Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption

A breathtaking Gothic Revival cathedral in Covington modeled on Notre-Dame de Paris — with one of the largest stained glass windows in the world. Construction started in 1894.

The Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption, with its soaring Gothic architecture modeled after Notre-Dame de Paris, has accumulated spiritual energy over more than a century of worship, weddings, funerals, and prayer. The century-old rectory adjacent to the cathedral is believed to be haunted by the ghost of Father Donald MacLeod, who wrote "The History of Roman Catholicism in North America." Witnesses working on building renovations have seen eerie mists and shadows under the doors of empty rooms. Father MacLeod seems attached to the rectory where he spent years in scholarly pursuit, and his presence is felt particularly strongly in the library. Within the cathedral itself, visitors have reported the temperature dropping noticeably near certain side altars and the feeling of being watched during quiet moments of prayer. The sounds of Gregorian chanting have been heard when no choir is present, and some visitors have seen figures in clerical robes moving through the nave before vanishing. The cathedral's beautiful stained glass windows sometimes seem to glow with an inner light at dusk, adding to the mystical atmosphere of this sacred space.