Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul

The beautiful and historic Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul,  the head church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia (raised to the rank of an archdiocese in 1875), was built from 1846-1864. The cathedral was the site of two papal Masses

The grand Palladian facade

Here are some interesting trivia regarding this cathedral:

• The cathedral is the largest Catholic church in Pennsylvania
• It is the largest brownstone structure and one of the most architecturally notable structures in the city of Philadelphia.
• Presented in a Roman–Corinthian style of architecture, the cathedral was modeled after the Lombard Church of St. Charles (San Carlo al Corso) in Rome.
• It is 250 ft. long, 136 ft. wide and approximately 156 ft. high from the floor to the top of the dome (209 ft. from the floor to the top of the 11-foot gold cross atop the dome and  314 ft. from the pavement).
• It was designed by Napoleon LeBrun (a native Philadelphian born to French-Catholic parents) from original plans by the Rev. Mariano Muller and the Rev. John B. Tornatore.
• The brownstone facing, now atmosphere and weather-worn and pinkish in color, originally came from quarries in Connecticut and northern New Jersey.
• The cathedral’s pipe organ, one of the largest in Philadelphia, has 75 ranks of pipes, 90 stops and 4,648 pipes on 4 manuals and pedals.
• According to local lore and the parish’s history, the Philadelphia Nativist Riots, which represented the height of Anti-Catholicism and Know-Nothingism in Philadelphia, greatly influenced the design of the building. The light-colored, tinted clerestory  windows were built very high to inhibit vandalism from possible future riots (Legend has it that the architect and construction workers would throw stones into the air to determine the height of where the windows would be placed).

Here’s the historical timeline of the cathedral:

• On September 6, 1846, it, the cornerstone of the cathedral, a gift of Mr. James McClarnan, was laid in the presence of some 8,000 persons.
• From 1846 to 1851, LeBrun supervised the project
• In 1851, by John Notman (noted for his Philadelphia ecclesiastical architecture) took over the supervision of the project
• In 1857, LeBrun’s again supervised its construction.
• On November 20, 1864, the cathedral was dedicated and solemnly blessed, with Bishop James Wood officiating.
• On July 6, 1877, the altars, dedicated to the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Sacred Heart, were blessed.
• On June 30, 1890, it was solemnly consecrated.
• From 1914-1915, Arch. Henry D. Dagit completely renovated the cathedral interior under the direction of Archbishop Edmond F. Prendergast, adding the apse behind the High Altar, while D’Ascenzo Studios executed the apse’s stained glass windows and mosaic murals.
• During the 1955-1957 renovation and expansion, semicircular apse was built to extend the sanctuary to its present depth of 54 ft.; lower stained glass windows were added to the new sanctuary apse (added with a stained glass window, from Conmick of Boston, depicting the Baptism of Jesus by St. John the Baptist and Sts. Peter and Paul baptizing prisoners in the Mamertine prison in Rome with water from a miraculous spring) and baptistery; and cast bronze doors (leading from the main façade into the narthex, or vestibule) and bronze handrails (along with the doors of the Race Street entrance to the cathedral) were installed.
• On June 24, 1971, the cathedral was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.
• On October 3, 1979, Pope John Paul II celebrated a Papal Mass here.
• On September 26, 2015, Pope Francis celebrated a Papal Mass here.

The cathedral’s aqua oxidized-copper vaulted dome, rising 156 ft. above the floor, and grand Palladian facade, designed by Notman in the Italian Renaissance manner, were added after 1850.

Commemorative Plaque of Pope John Paul II Visit

The old chapel on the north side of the basilica that was built in 1856 was replaced the Chapel of Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament which was dedicated on October 11, 1955, the Feast of the Maternity of Our Lady.

The cathedral’s doors

The building’s main façade, graced by four massive, 60 ft. high (6 ft. in diameter) Corinthian columns, has niches with bronze statues of the Sacred Heart (to whom the diocese was consecrated by Bishop Wood on October 15, 1873); Mary, the Immaculate Conception (proclaimed patroness of the United States at the First Council of Baltimore in 1846, it was sculpted at the Joseph Sibbel Studios and installed in 1918); and Saints Peter and Paul, (the patrons of the Cathedral Basilica) both sculpted in the Gorham Studios.

The spacious interior

The spacious interior, largely decorated by Constantino Brumidi (a Greek/Italian-American painter best known for his murals in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.), features an oversized apse of stained glass and red antique marble in proportions reminiscent of Roman churches. The two large paintings, The Ascension of our Lord and the Adoration of the Kings from the East, decorate the ends of the transept.

Painting of “Adoration of the Kings from the East”

The 50 ft. wide and 192 ft. long great nave, lighted by bronze chandeliers weighing a half ton each, has a vaulted ceiling rising 80 ft. above the floor. The nave and transept are separated from the side aisles by massive pillars (which give way to arched recesses for altars and the baptistery) while a white marble altar rail, with three bronze gates, separate them from the sanctuary.

Painting of “The Ascension of Our Lord”

The Assumption of the Virgin into Heaven (1868), the striking oil on canvas ceiling mural in the dome, the pendentives and the portraits of St. Matthew (Angel), St. Mark (Lion), St. Luke (Winged Ox) and St. John (Eagle) in the medallions on the spandrels at the base of the dome, were painted by Brumidi. At the dome’s next level are panel paintings entitled Angels of The Passion (with each group of angels is an emblem of the Passion).

The dome

The ornate main altar, built with Botticino marble with Mandorlato rose marble trim, and the three altars, on each of the side aisles, point to an Italian Renaissance flavor. The front of the main altar is decorated by 3 gilded bronze discs, the central one bearing the HIS, the Greek inscription of Jesus Christ.

The High Altar

The 38 ft. high baldachin (or canopy) over the altar, of antique Italian marble, is surmounted by a semicircular bronze dome, the underside of which is a marble mosaic whose central figure is a dove, the symbol of the Holy Spirit.

The baldachin

The mosaic carries in Latin an inscription which translates: “In every place there is offered and sacrificed in My Name a clean oblation.” White, 10 ft. high, Italian marble angels, its decorative rosettes of Botticino marble, stand at the corners of the baldachin.

Two side altars are dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Shrine of St. Katharine Drexel

The shrines dedicated to St. Katharine Drexel and St. John Neumann have 7-ft. high sculpted marble statues of these recent saints.

St. John Neumann Altar & Shrine

St. Katharine’s shrine retains the original altar donated in the 19th century by St. Katharine herself, along with her sisters, Elizabeth and Louise, as a memorial to their deceased parents, Francis and Emma Drexel.

Memorial altar to Archbishop Ryan

The memorial altar to Archbishop Patrick John Ryan, to the right of the altar dedicated to St. Katharine Drexel, was designed with the ancient Celtic Cross, to the left of which is the statue of St. Patrick while to the right is the statue of St. John the Evangelist.

Altar dedicated to the Holy Souls

The altar on the south side, between the Shrine to Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal and the baptistery, is dedicated to the Holy Souls and was modeled after the Blessed Sacrament altar in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. The Shrine to Our Lady of Guadalupe, installed in December 2009, was the thought of Cardinal Justin Francis Rigali.

Shrine to Our Lady of Guadalupe

The choir stalls and the Cardinal’s chair, both of American black walnut, have wooden screens inspired by the famous metal rejería found in many cathedrals in Spain. The octagonal pulpit, opposite the Cardinal’s chair, has a carved walnut canopy and was constructed with marble matching the altar.

Mural of Blessed Mary’s Assumption

The baptistery, enclosed by a bronze screen inspired by a similar one in the Cathedral of Toledo in Spain, has the coat-of-arms of Cardinal John Francis O’Hara (carrying his motto in Latin “If you follow her you shall not go astray”) set into the top center of the screen.

The choir loft

The altar dedicated to the Holy Souls, to the left of the baptistery, is modeled after the Blessed Sacrament Altar in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. The main sanctuary and eight side chapels can comfortably seat approximately 1,240 worshippers (1,500 with added temporary chairs) in pews of walnut wood. The confessionals, their privacy secured by red velvet curtains, have a walnut finish while the floor is of white and black marble tiles.

The pipe organ

The choir loft, at the rear of the cathedral, has a richly ornamental organ screen (or casing) designed by Otto R. Eggers (who also designed the Jefferson Memorial, the Mellon Art Gallery, and the National Gallery of Art, all in Washington, D.C.) and built with carved walnut. The casing which encloses the pipes is one of the most outstanding in the country. High above the screen is a majestic stained glass window of the Crucifixion. The case enclosing the organ was most likely built by Edwin Forrest Durang, one of the cathedral architects and builders.

A mural (north), designed by Leandro Velasco, depicts people and events in the Church’s involvement with Pennsylvania history. At the top are the coats of arms of Pope Paul VI and John Cardinal Krol, and the bottom is the symbol of the 41st Eucharistic Congress, Philadelphia, 1976. The historic scenes are of George Washington and members of the Continental Congress at Old St. Mary’s Church; St. Katharine Drexel, Sisters of St. Joseph caring for the wounded on the Gettysburg battlefield; and Commodore Barry, founder of the United States Navy.

The statues of St. Peter (south side/rear) and St. Paul (north side/rear), the patrons of the cathedral, were moved from the now closed Church of the Most Blessed Sacrament and installed inside the cathedral in August 2009.

Another mural (south) by Leandro Velasco

In the bowels of the building, under the main altar of the cathedral, is the compact “Crypt of the Bishops” with the remains of most of the bishops and archbishops, as well as several other clergymen, of Philadelphia. The crypt, reached by stairs behind the main altar, is the final resting place of:

• Michael Francis Egan, O.S.F. – the first Bishop of Philadelphia, he was consecrated on October 28, 1810 and died in 1814.
• Henry Conwell – second Bishop of Philadelphia, he was consecrated 1820. He died on April 22, 1842.
• Francis Patrick Kenrick – the third Bishop of Philadelphia, he was elevated to Archbishop of Baltimore in 1851. He died in 1863.
• James Frederick Wood – the fifth Bishop, he became the first Archbishop of Philadelphia in 1875. He died on June 20, 1882.
• Patrick John Ryan the sixth Bishop, he was the second Archbishop of Philadelphia. He died on February 3, 1911.
• Edmond Prendergast – the seventh Bishop, he was the third Archbishop of Philadelphia. He died on February 26, 1918.
• Dennis Joseph Dougherty – the eighth Bishop, he was the fourth Archbishop of Philadelphia and the first to be elevated to Cardinal. He died on May 31, 1951.
• John Krol– the tenth Bishop, he was the sixth Archbishop of Philadelphia and the third to be elevated to Cardinal. He died on March 3, 1996.
• Anthony Joseph Bevilacqua – the eleventh Bishop, he was the seventh Archbishop of Philadelphia and the fourth to be elevated to Cardinal. He died on January 31, 2012.
• Ames J. Carroll – bishop who died in 1913.
• Francis I. Clark – bishop who died in 1918.
• Cletus Benjamin – bishop who died on May 15, 1961.
• Gerald P. O’Hara – bishop who died on July 16, 1963
• Gerald V. McDevitt – bishop who died on September 29, 1980.
• Francis Patrick O’Neill – pastor of St. James, Philadelphia, 1843–1882, died 1882.
• Maurice Walsh – pastor of St. Paul’s Philadelphia (1832–1888) who died in 1888.
• James Corcoran – professor at Saint Charles Seminary who died in 1889.
• Francis Brennan – Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for the Discipline of the Sacraments,he was the first American to receive an appointment to the Roman Curia. He died on July 2, 1968.
• John Patrick Foley – President of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, he was the seventh Philadelphia priest to be elevated to Cardinal. He died on December 11, 2011.

Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul: 18th St. & Benjamin Franklin Parkway, (opposite Logan Square) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103.  Tel: (215) 561-1313. Open daily, Mondays to Fridays,  7:30 AM to 5 PM; Saturdays, 9 AM to 5:15 PM; Sundays, 8 AM to 5 PM.

St. Augustine Catholic Church

The historic and pretty ornate St. Augustine Catholic  Church (also called Olde St. Augustine’s), built to replace the Old St. Augustine Church (the first Order of Hermits of St. Augustine church founded in the United States) which was completed in 1801 and burned down in the anti-Catholic Philadelphia Nativist Riots on May 8, 1844  (all that remained was the back wall of the altar), was designed by architect  Napoleon LeBrun who also designed Philadelphia landmarks as the Academy of Music (eventual home of the Philadelphia Orchestra) and the Cathedral Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul.

The church’s Palladian-style facade

The present church, whose cornerstone was laid on May 27, 1847, was completed in December 1848 and consecrated by Bishop Francis Kenrick and Archbishop John Hughes who presided over High Mass on November 5, 1848.

The main entrance

In 1922, the altar area underwent significant restoration and change, the vestibule of the church was changed significantly and stairs were put in when 4th Street was excavated to pass under the Benjamin Franklin Bridge. The nave of the church is original. The color in the brick facade of the church indicates where the original church brick ends and where the 1922 brick begins. On June 15, 1976, the church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The magnificent interior

On December 1992, a severe storm severely damaged the church’s steeple whose debris fell onto the Benjamin Franklin Bridge, closing for three days. The damaged steeple had to be disassembled and removed. A 50-ft. chasm opened in the church roof caused the priceless painting and murals inside to suffer water damage. On October 18, 1995, a new steeple was erected.

Dr. Malcolm Crowe (Bruce Willis) meets the scared Cole Sear (Haley Joel Osment) inside the church in The Sixth Sense

The interior and exterior of St. Augustine’s Church was featured in the 1999 M. Night Shyamalan spooky thriller The Sixth Sense (where Bruce Willis, as Dr. Malcolm Crowe, and Haley Joel Osment, as Cole Sear, meet for the first time) and the 2007 action movie Shooter  (in which the church’s bell tower figures in an assassination plot).

The Shooter

This church is the parish of choice of many Filipino-American Catholics (who increased the congregation’s numbers in the 1990s) from Philadelphia, the city’s suburbs and the tri-state area (Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware). In fact, on January 11, 1992, an exact replica of Santo Niño de Cebú was installed and dedicated here and Filipinos have held a special mass and festivals (also called Sinulog) for the Santo Niño, making it the National Shrine for devotion to Santo Nino in North America.

This Palladian-style (an Italian-Renaissance variant) church, with its non-cruciform plan, has a flat, decorated roof, semicircular arched window, an enormous cleaving balcony and two sets of stained glass windows, each dedicated to a saint. The impressive, ornate foyer, though lower than the church (you need to take another set of stairs to go up into the church), is treated like a part of the interior.

The main arched altar, framed by an archway supported by brown Corinthian columns flanked by flying angels, consists of white marble with shafts of Mexican onyx bordering the tabernacle. Behind the altar is a Crucifixion tableau, painted by Hans Hansen in 1926, crowned by the words “The Lord Seeth.” Above it sits a domed skylight.  The wrap-around, 3-sided gallery essentially divides the space vertically in half.

The main altar

The beautiful ceiling frescoes, depicting scenes from “St. Augustine in Glory,” as well as murals on either side of the altar were painted by Philip Costaggini (who painted part of the frieze on the rotunda of the Capitol in Washington, D.C.) in 1884 and are the oldest in any church in America.

Statue of St. Nicholas Tolentine at the ornate foyer

Statue of St. Thomas of Villanova

St. Augustine Catholic Church: 243 North Lawrence St., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19106, United States.  Tel: +1 215-627-1838. Fax: 215-627-3911. E-mail: staugustineparish09@gmail.com.  Website: www.st-augustinechurch.com. Mass schedules: Mondays – Fridays: 12:05 PM (10 AM during legal holidays), Saturdays (Vigil – 5:15 PM) and Sundays (9 AM, 11 AM and 7 PM). Novena prayers to Santo Nino are held after the 11 AM Sunday Mass. Open Mondays to Fridays, 9 AM to 5 PM; weekends, 9 AM to the conclusion of the evening masses.

The very first mass we attended in the US, on the eve of the Feast of St. John the Baptist, was held at the beautiful Church of St. Ignatius of Loyola, located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. It was officiated by the very friendly and welcoming Fr. Dennis J. Yesalonia, S.J.

Church of St. Ignatius of Loyola

This Roman Catholic parish church, under the authority of the Archdiocese of New York, is administered by the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). The church is part of a Jesuit complex on the block that includes Wallace Hall, the parish hall (beneath the church), the rectory (at the midblock location on Park Ave.), the grade school of St. Ignatius’s School (on the north midblock location of 84th St., behind the church) and the high school of Loyola School (also 980 Park Ave.) at the northwest corner of Park Ave. and 83rd St. The Regis High School (55 East 84th St.), another Jesuit high school, occupies the midblock location on the north side of 84th St..

Established in 1851 as St. Lawrence O’Toole‘s (a twelfth-century bishop of Dublin) Church, a wooden church was erected in 1852 but was replaced, in 1853, by a modest brick structure. In 1886, it was entrusted to the care of the Society of Jesus  the Jesuits’ first major apostolate in the Yorkville area of New York.  In 1898, it was granted permission by Rome to change the patron saint of the parish to St. Ignatius of Loyola.

The church’s foundation was built from 1884 to 1886 and the present German Baroque-style church, designed by Arch. J. William Schickel of Schickel & Ditmars, was built from 1895 to 1900. On December 11, 1898, it was dedicated by the Most Reverend Michael Corrigan, third Archbishop of New York. On March 4, 1969, the church was declared as a New York City Landmark and, on July 24, 1980, the church was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

The beautiful church interior

Notable people whose funerals were held here include:

• Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis (US First Lady) – May 1994 (she was also baptized and confirmed here)
• Aaliyah (singer and actress) – August 2001
• Lena Horne (singer and actress) – May 2010
• Philip Seymour Hoffman (actor) – February 2014
• Oscar de la Renta (fashion designer) – November 2014
• Mario Cuomo (governor of New York) – January 2015
• Ann Mara (co-owner of N.Y. Giants Football Team) – February 2015
• David Carr (Y. Times media columnist) – February 2015

This 90 ft. high and 87 ft. wide architectural gem has a Classical Park Avenue exterior that is not static, with the central division raised in slight relief beyond the side divisions.  Its façade has 2 unbroken vertical orders, a Palladian arched window and a tri-part horizontal division which suggest the central nave and side aisles beyond. Directly beneath the pediment are inscribed the words “Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam” (“To the Greater Glory of God”, the motto of the Society of Jesus,  and the Great Seal of the Society (composed of a cross, three nails, and the letters I H S, the first three letters of Jesus’ name in Greek which later became a Latin acronym denoting Jesus the Savior of Humankind).

The altar

The varying intervals between the symmetrically positioned pilasters create a subtly undulating dynamism that introduces a note of syncopated rhythm reminiscent of the exterior of Il Gesù, the Jesuits’ mother church in Rome. Two copper-capped tower bases, on either side of the central pediment, are hints of the abandoned grander scheme of a pair of towers designed to reach 210 ft. above the ground. The church’s intricate marble work, executed by the firm of James G. Batterson, Jr., and John Eisele of New York, includes American (pink Tennessee), European (yellow Siena, veined Pavonazzo and white Carrara) and African (red-veined Numidian and pink Algerian) marble. The soaring ceiling was beautifully crafted and the intricate stained glass windows tells the story of Jesus life, death and resurrection.

The high ceiling

The marble mosaic Stations of the Cross panels were designed by Professor Paoletti for Salviati & Company of Venice.  The great 12-panel bronze doors, located at the sanctuary end of the side aisles, were designed by the Rev. Patrick O’Gorman, S.J. (pastor from 1924 to 1929) and were crafted by the Long Island Bronze Company. The Carrara marble Jesuit statues (including St. Francis Xavier and St. John Francis Regis) were carved by the Joseph Sibbel Studio of New York.  The church organ, built by N.P. Mander of London, was dedicated in 1993 and is New York City’s largest mechanical action (tracker) pipe organ.

The semicircular wrought-iron baptistery screen of gilt flaming swords, in the Chapel of John the Baptist, was wrought by Mr. John Williams to the designs of William Schickel. The Carrara marble baptistery font, set above the marble pavement, was designed “by Heaton, Butler & Bayne of London, with slight modifications made by Mr. John Buck of the Ecclesiastical Department of the Gorham Company of New York (also responsible for the cutting and installing the mosaic’s tesserae – the pieces comprising the mosaic).

The baptistery’s altar and the surrounding curved walls, designed and executed under the direction of Mr. Caryl Coleman of the Ecclesiastical Department of the Tiffany Glass and Decorating Company (who also executed the baptistery’s semi-dome), were made with Pavonazzo marble inlaid with mosaics (composed of that company’s justly famous opalescent Favrile glass, as delicate as the Venetian glass mosaics above are bold).

Church of St. Ignatius of Loyola: 980 Park Ave. cor. East 84th St., New York City, New York 10028.  Tel: +212-288-3588. Website: www.stignatiusloyola.org. Mass Schedule: Mondays-Fridays, 8:30 AM, 12:10 PM and 5:30 PM; Saturdays, 8:30 AM an 5:30 PM; Sundays, 8 AM, 9:30 AM, 11 AM (Solemn Mass) and 7:30 PM.