WASHINGTON (RNS) When Pope Francis
visits the U.S. in September, he’ll make stops at prominent churches that have drawn the faithful and the curious for decades.
In Washington,
he will visit the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle and the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. He will stop at New York’s St. Patrick’s Cathedral and celebrate Mass at Philadelphia’s Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul.
Here’s a look at some of the history of the Washington and Philadelphia sites:
Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Washington, D.C.
The dome, decorated with polychrome tiles, and the 329-foot tower of this imposing building can be spotted from across the nation’s capital. It is the largest Catholic church in North America and one of the 10 largest in the world.
In 1910, Bishop Thomas Shahan launched a campaign for the building of the shrine to honor the Virgin Mary. Pope Francis will visit the site on the 95th anniversary of the laying of its cornerstone, in 1920.
The edifice includes the Crypt Church on the lower level, completed in 1926, and the Great Upper Church, which was dedicated in 1959 after delays during the Depression and World War II.
The shrine has the world’s largest collection of contemporary ecclesiastical art, with 81 altars and devotional spaces paying tribute to Mary by cultures across the globe.
“Our interior reflects the demographics of the United States,” said basilica archivist and curator Geraldine M. Rohling. Cultures represented range from the Czech, Slovak and Polish chapels that were donated and dedicated in the 1960s to the Our Mother of Africa Chapel constructed in the 1990s.
In 1968, the shrine acquired the tiara of Pope Paul VI, the last pope to wear the traditional papal crown. He famously
removed it in 1963; proceeds were given to the poor, and donations continue to be given to a papal fund for the poor.
The shrine is not a parish church, but it offers daily and weekend Masses. It has had just one wedding — of the younger daughter of President Lyndon B. Johnson, Luci Baines Johnson.
The Great Upper Church is used for special large gatherings, including the annual prayer vigil the day before the March for Life in Washington, D.C., each January, and special occasions, such as prayers on 9/11.
“It was very chilling because if you stood on our front steps or you walked in the front steps, you could see the Pentagon burning in the distance,” said Rohling of that day in 2001.
An estimated 1 million people spend time at the site each year, attending Mass, going to confession or visiting as pilgrims or tourists.
The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, located on the Catholic University of America campus in Washington, D.C.
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