Cathedral of the Downtown
Cathedral of the Downtown
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Location Information
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The Cathedral of the Downtown is a Catholic cathedral in downtown Springfield. It is evidently located in a rough neighborhood, as the church's marquee sign says "Archbishop carries less than $20".
History
Following the shooting of Mr. Burns, Waylon Smithers, Jr. woke up hung over with a vague memory of having shot someone after the town meeting. Smithers then noticed his own gun had been recently fired, and came to the conclusion that he must have shot Burns. Guilt-ridden, Smithers went to the Cathredal of the Downtown, sat down in the confessional booth and confessed to having shot Burns. Instead of a priest, however, Chief Wiggum was sitting in the other side of the booth. After Smithers finished his confession, Wiggum opened the curtain, said "That's all I needed to hear!" and arrested him. Wiggum apparently made a regular practice of using the cathedral's confessional booth to catch suspects, as he also said, "Boy, this thing works great" as he arrested Smithers.
Smithers was later proven innocent, however. Sideshow Mel watched the news coverage of Smithers' arrest, realized that Smithers couldn't have shot Burns and went to the police with the information. The man Smithers shot turned out to be Jasper Beardley, who was unharmed because Smithers had hit him in his wooden leg.
Behind the Laughter
- The cathedral's marquee sign is a reference to the practice of business establishments such as convenience stores and workers such as retail clerks and delivery drivers having signs and/or badges saying that they have limited amounts of cash in order to discourage robbery attempts.
- Smithers' line, "Father, I'm not a Catholic, but...well, I tried to march in the Saint Patrick's Day parade." is a reference to the 1995 Supreme Court decision Hurley v. Irish-American Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Group of Boston.
Appearances
