Cathedral-Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul
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Cathedral-Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul, home to the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, is located at 18th Street and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, on the east side of Logan Circle in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
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[edit] Architecture
With its majestic façade, vaulted dome, ornate main altar, eight side chapels and main sanctuary that comfortably holds 2,000 worshipers, the Cathedral-Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul is the largest brownstone structure and one of the most architecturally eminent structures in the city of Philadelphia. Erected in 1864, the Cathedral, presented in a Roman-Corinthian style of architecture, is modeled after the Lombard Church of St. Charles (San Carla al Corso) in Rome. Its Palladian façade and aqua oxidized-copper dome are in the Italian Renaissance manner, and the interior is spacious with an oversize apse of stained glass and red antique marble in magnificent proportions reminiscent of Roman churches. It was largely decorated by Constantino Brumidi, who also painted the dome of the Capitol in Washington. A baldachin over the main altar and the three altars on each of the side aisles point up this Italian Renaissance flavor. Also in the bowels of the building is the compact Crypt of the Bishops.
[edit] Construction
On the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, June 29, 1846, Bishop Kenrick, then Archbishop of Philadelphia, issued a pastoral letter announcing his determination to build a cathedral. It was the bishop's intention to avoid running into debt, so the cathedral was long in building. He chose for the site a plot of ground adjoining the seminary at Eighteenth and Race Streets. Construction on the Basilica began shortly thereafter but was not completed until 1864. Construction began less than 2 years after the Philadelphia Nativist Riots. These riots represented the height of Anti-Catholicism and Know-Nothingism in Philadelphia and greatly influenced the design of the building. The Cathedral was built with only very high clerestory windows, according to parish histories, to inhibit vandalism.
[edit] The Burial Crypt
Under the main altar of the Cathedral is a crypt with remains of most of the Bishops and Archbishops, and of several other clergymen of Philadelphia. The crypt can be reached by stairs behind the main alter.
Notable burials:
- Michael Egan, O.S.F., first Bishop of Philadelphia, died 1814.
- Henry Conwell, second Bishop of Philadelphia, died 1842.
- Francis Kenrick, third Bishop of Philadelphia, died 1851.
- James Frederick Wood, fifth Bishop and first Archbishop of Philadelphia, died 1882.
- Patrick John Ryan, sixth Bishop and second Archbishop of Philadelphia, died 1911.
- Edmond Francis Prendergast, seventh Bishop and third Archbishop of Philadelphia, died 1918.
- Dennis Joseph Cardinal Dougherty, eigth Bishop and forth Archbishop of Philadelphia, died 1951.
- John Cardinal Krol, tenth Bishop and sixth Archbishop of Philadelphia, died 1996.
[edit] Trivia
- The Basilica was designed by John Notman and Napoleon Eugene Henry Charles Le Brun. Le Brun was a native Philadelphian born to French Catholic parents. Other notable buildings he designed include the Home Insurance Building in New York City and the Philadelphia Academy of Music. He also designed a myriad of churches throughout Philadelphia, including St. Patrick's (1841), the Seventh Presbyterian (1842), the Scot's Presbyterian (1843), the German Catholic Church of St. Peter (1843) and the Protestant Episcopal Church of the Nativity (1844).
- It is the largest Catholic church in Pennsylvania.
- Pope John Paul II celebrated Mass here when he visited Philadelphia in 1979. It is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
- In order to protect the windows of the Cathedral Basilica from possible future riots, the builders would throw stones into the air to determine the height of where the windows would be placed.
[edit] References
- PBS: Holy Philadelphia
- USHistory.org
- Philadelphia Archdiocesan Historical Research Center
- Napolean Architect's Biography
- Catholic Encyclopedia
- WherePhiladelphia.com
[edit] See also
- Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia
- List of basilicas
- List of cathedrals in the United States
- List of National Register of Historic Places entries
