AMARILLO, TEXAS -- An important function for the Catholic Diocese of Amarillo happened Thursday night.  Hundreds of catholics gathered at Saint Laurence Cathedral for Vespers. These "evening prayers" began the process of transferring the seat of Bishop Patrick Zurek from Saint Laurence to Saint Mary's.

That process will be officially completed during a mass at Saint Mary's Friday at 2 p.m. During that time, Saint Mary's church will be elevated to the status of a cathedral.

Eight bishops are expected to come from outside of the diocese. Since it is a multicultural celebration, there was prayers and singing in English, Latin and Spanish. Saint Laurence has served as the cathedral for the diocese for 36 years. The Diocese of Amarillo will be streaming the Dedication of St. Mary's as Cathedral Mass on March 25th for free, click here for the link.

On it's website, the Disocese had this to say about the event:

The official Transfer of the Episcopal Chair and the Erection of the Cathedral Church of St. Mary's in Amarillo will take place at St. Mary's on Friday, March 25, 2011, at 2:00pm. This day will then become and always remain a very special Solemnity for the Diocese of Amarillo. Daniel Cardinal DiNardo of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston and Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller of the Archdiocese of San Antonio will concelebrate Mass with Bishop Patrick J. Zurek on Friday, March 25 at St. Mary’s Church that will elevate the parish to Cathedral status.

If you would like A Recap Of Diocesan Cathedral History, click here.