History

In 1846, an excerpt from a Massachusetts newspaper told of "a magnificent Catholic church [to] be built at Washington, D.C. after the manner of the great cathedrals of the Old World from subscriptions of every Catholic Parish in America.”

 Spanning the late 19th, 20th and now 21st century, American Catholics would indeed build a sanctuary that rivals those of Europe and the world, not only in size but in stature as well—in sacred art, architecture, history and heritage.

Dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, under her title of the Immaculate Conception, the Basilica is the nation’s preeminent Marian shrine. With over 70 chapels and oratories that relate to the peoples, cultures and traditions that are the tapestry of the Catholic faith and the mosaic of our great nation, the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception is indeed, America’s Catholic church.

http://www.nationalshrine.com/site/c.osJRKVPBJnH/b.4719297/k.BF65/Home.htm

In 1847 , at the petition of the bishops of the United States , Pope Pius IX named the Blessed Virgin Mary Patroness of the United States under her title of the Immaculate Conception

http://www.nationalshrine.com/site/c.osJRKVPBJnH/b.4719297/k.BF65/Home.htm

In order to ensure that the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception on the Catholic University campus would be a recognizable and important architectural element on Washington's skyline, the Boston architect Charles D. Maginnis of the firm Maginnis and Walsh included both a lofty dome (237 feet) and tall carillon (329 feet) in his design. The National Shrine is America's largest Roman Catholic church, and although shorter at 459 feet than many other churches, its 77,500 square feet of space place it eleventh largest in the world. Its massiveness, as well as the combination of Byzantine and Romanesque styles of architecture, were conscious attempts to vie with, but distinguish it from, the Neo-Gothic Episcopal National Cathedral



Society of Architectural Historians
http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/DC-01-NE08