Springfield historian Frances Gagnon will lead a walking tour of St. Michael’s Cathedral on Saturday, September 11, from 10:30 am-noon.

The tour takes place as the cathedral approaches its 150th anniversary. Started as St. Benedict’s parish on Union Street in 1847, the congregation grew and the cornerstone for the present church was laid on September 29, 1860.  By 1870 the parish church became a cathedral and the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield. A parishioner of St. Michael’s, Gagnon will discuss the milestones of its history and bring the group inside the cathedral.

The tour is part of the Second Saturday Walking Tour series, co-sponsored by the Armoury-Quadrangle Civic Association and the Springfield Museums. Walking tour tickets may be purchased in the museum Welcome Center at 21 Edwards Street on the day of the event. Tickets are free for members of the civic association or of the museums. Tickets for non-members are $5 per person. All proceeds will go toward improvements to the neighborhood.

For additional information, call the Armoury-Quadrangle Civic Association at 413.747.1830 or email aqca@kimballtowers.com.