St Thomas Aquinas Cathedral

Located within walking distance of the casinos, this beautiful church offers a beautiful Sunday Mass for locals and weekenders. The music is old-​school Catholic with traditional hymns in Latin and the cantor being accompanied by an organ. The lectors were skillful presenters and the pastor delivered an engaging homily. The church itself is worth a visit. From its enormous mural behind the altar to the stained glass windows to the stations of the cross, every piece of art was wonderfully rendered. We made the 11:30 service; they offer a 7:30, 9:30 and a night mass in addition to the Saturday evening vigil. I’m glad I made the effort to find this church for our family to take part.

Interesting! A Catholic Church dubbed a cathedral in the middle of Downtown Reno. It is ideal for traveling Catholics who are needing a place to worship & pray while staying at various hotel casinos.

The night before Thanksgiving they have a night of prayers from all the different religions. People come and represent their religion and say a prayer. The Cathedral had their Spanish band there which pumped the crowd up. They sang and danced and everyone had a great time. I only attended to see my mother say a prayer and it was beautiful. I would go back if she was to participate in the night or not. All of the guest were very friendly and the church was beautiful.

A church is supposed to be a special place.
If you are a Catholic, one thing that’s kind of neat is that when you’re in church on Sunday, you know that every Catholic in the world is basically hearing the same thing you’re hearing that day. All Masses are done the same way.
Sorta.
Unfortunately, some parishes feel they have to entertain you. Dazzle you. Maybe it’s all part of the world we live in, where nobody has your attention for very long. But what I don’t want to hear on Sunday is a variety show, «…and now… heeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrreeeee’s Jesus! [cut in theme music] Hey, folks! A funny thing happened to me on the way to Samaria…»
Without getting into the failure of other parishes to provide the proper setting to celebrate the Mass, and without coming off like Mel Gibson ranting about the Second Vatican Council, let me just say that the Cathedral in Reno is a special place.
First, it looks like a church. Please keep your «theater-​in-​the-​round» entertainment venues and your uninspired stained glass with rivers and trees. I want Saints– lots of them– all staring down in dark stained glass. I want an interior where the subdued lighting draws your eye upward, with the omnipresent scent of incense.
Second, I want to hear things from the pulpit that don’t sound like you just wrote it on the back of an envelope before you walked in. And I don’t want to be here same time next year and hear the same thing.
For the uninitiated, the Cathedral is the church where the Bishop hangs out. It’s staffed by Conventual Franciscan Friars.
I drive thirty miles to get here, if that tells you anything.
If you’re not Catholic, but just interested in the building, it’s pretty neat. It was built in the early 1900’s– almost immediately caught fire– and was repaired and opened again. Lots of stained glass, impressive murals and artwork, everything you’d expect for the center of a major religion in Northern Nevada. the front doors are covered in Nevada copper. the altars and various other items are made from stone mined in Nevada. A significant historical building in down town Reno.