A new cathedral is about to built in Steubenville, Ohio, and it looks lovely. Small, as cathedrals go, but modest in scale and fairly traditional in design. The local paper has the scoop:

The Catholic Diocese of Steubenville got the OK to proceed with plans for a new cathedral.

But approval from the city’s Board of Zoning Appeals Monday came with a price.

The diocese, represented by Meacham & Apel Architects Inc. of Dublin, had requested seven variances from the city concerning the height of the new church, an illuminated sign and the continuation of existing parking practices.

The variances were approved but the zoning appeals panel required the planners to include the construction of a new 60-space parking lot near Johnson Road and a traffic study to be approved by the city engineer before final zoning approval will be granted.

The panel also announced the diocese has a two-year deadline for completion of the Triumph of the Cross Cathedral.

According to John Westling, chairman of the zoning appeals board, “if you don’t build the church in the next two years, you will have to come back here and ask for your variances again.”

The Rev. Tim McGuire, pastor of the proposed cathedral, said “there was good give and take by everyone tonight,” following the meeting.

“There were compromises by everyone involved. The additional parking lot to be constructed along with the building of the church will add cost to the project but we will have to deal with that,” McGuire said.

“We want to be good neighbors to the residents in that area. We will work with the neighbors,” McGuire stated.

You can visit the parish’s website for a gallery of plans and models. Let’s wish them well and pray that this beautiful project will be successfully completed.