Interior of Maryhelp Cathedral (circa 1900)

On January 1, 1977 the Abbatia Nullius of Belmont Abbey was suppressed and thus, Maryhelp Church lost its status as “Cathedral”. Belmont Abbey had existed as an Abbatia Nullius Dioecesis since 1910, the only Abbey in the United States to ever hold that rank. An Abbatia Nullius is outside the jurisdiction of any diocese and therefore its abbot enjoys a dignity like a bishop and its church is elevated to the rank of cathedral.