Baltimore Cathedral - Baltimore, MD
N 39° 17.666 W 076° 37.003
18S E 360583 N 4350696
This postage stamp depicts the Baltimore Cathedral, also known as the Baltimore Basilica and the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Waymark Code: WMD6NA
Location: Maryland, United States
Date Posted: 11/27/2011
Views: 9
"The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, also called the Baltimore Basilica, was the first Roman Catholic cathedral built in the United States, and was the first major religious building constructed in the nation after the adoption of the U.S. Constitution. As a co-cathedral, it is one of the seats of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore in Baltimore, Maryland. It is considered the masterpiece of Benjamin Henry Latrobe, the "Father of American Architecture".
History
The Basilica was constructed (1806–1821) to a design of Benjamin Henry Latrobe — America's first professionally trained architect and Thomas Jefferson's Architect of the U.S. Capitol; under the guidance of America's first Bishop, John Carroll. The Basilica was later consecrated on May 31, 1821, by the third Archbishop of Baltimore, Ambrose Maréchal.
Pope Pius XI raised the Cathedral to the rank of a Minor Basilica in 1937. In 1969, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and further, in 1971, it was declared a National Historic Landmark. It is also the namesake of the Cathedral Hill Historic District. In 1993, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops designated the Basilica a National Shrine."
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