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Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul
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Cathedral-Basilica of SS. Peter & Paul
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| Location: | 18th Street & Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
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| Built: | 1846-1864 |
| Architect: | Napoleon LeBrun; Constantino Brumidi |
| Architectural style: | Mid 19th Century Revival, Other |
| Governing body: | Private |
| NRHP Reference#: | 71000720[1] |
| Added to NRHP: | June 24, 1971 |
The Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, head church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia, is located at 18th Street & the Benjamin Franklin Parkway on the east side of Logan Square in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is the largest Catholic church in Pennsylvania and listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places as Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul. In 1979, the Cathedral was visited by Pope John Paul II, where he went on to celebrate Mass.
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With its majestic façade, vaulted dome, ornate main altar, eight side chapels and main sanctuary that comfortably holds 2,000 worshippers, 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 Carlo 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 Baldichino 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'.
The Basilica was designed by John Notman and Napoleon Eugene Henry Charles Le Brun.
On the Feast of SS. Peter and Paul, June 29, 1846, Bishop Kenrick, then Bishop 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 cathedral began shortly thereafter but was not completed until 1864. This was less than 2 years after the Philadelphia Nativist Riots. These riots represented the height of Anti-Catholicism and Know-Nothingism in Philadelphia and, according to local lore, greatly influenced the design of the building. The Cathedral was built with only very high clerestory windows that according to parish histories would inhibit vandalism. 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.
Under the main altar of the Cathedral is a crypt with the 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 altar. The crypt is the final resting place of:
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