St. Mary's Basilica (Phoenix)

St. Mary's Basilica
St. Mary's Basilica
	St. Mary's Basilica in 2021
Location	Phoenix, Arizona
Country	United States
Denomination	Catholic Church
Tradition	Latin Church
Website	St. Mary's Basilica
History
Dedication	Mary, mother of Jesus
Dedicated	1915
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Architect(s)	Leonard Darscheid;R. A. Gray&George Gallagher
Style	Mission Revival/Spanish Colonial Revival
Administration
Diocese	Diocese of Phoenix
	St. Mary's Church
	U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location	231 N. 3rd St.,Phoenix, Arizona
Coordinates	33°27′03″N112°04′10″W/ 33.4507°N 112.0694°W
Area	0.3 acres (0.12 ha)
Built	1902–1914
NRHP referenceNo.	78000551
Added to NRHP	November 29, 1978

St. Mary's Basilica– officiallyThe Church of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary– is a church of theDiocese of Phoenixlocated at 231 North 3rd Street at the corner of East Monroe Street indowntown Phoenix, Arizona.It was previously known as St. Mary's Church. It was built from 1902 to 1914 in a combination of theMission RevivalandSpanish Colonial Revivalstyles, and was dedicated in 1915. It replaced an earlier adobe church built in 1881 when the parish was founded. From 1895 the parish was staffed by theFranciscan Friars,but it is currently staffed and operated by clergy of the Diocese of Phoenix. The current church was elevated to aminor basilicabyPope John Paul IIin 1985.

The oldestCatholicparish church in the greater Phoenix area, St. Mary's was the only parish in Phoenix until 1924 and is home to Arizona's largeststained glass windowscollection and a 26-rank pipe organ built by theSchantz Organ Company.

Architecture

The church's structure supports four domes spanning the length of the basilica. All the domes are compound design with the pendentives, followingRoman architecture,transferring the weight of the roof to the pillars. The dome over the intercept point of the crossover, the nave center aisle and theapse,is topped with stained glass and features a lantern above the dome to emit light into the nave and sanctuary. The dome located over the altar is topped with acupoladesigned to provide light to the altar. The two bell towers are topped with onion shaped domes, typical of the churches of Bavaria and Austria, where Novatus Benzing, the pastor at the time, and Leonard Darscheid, the architectural consultant, both originated. The towers house four bells which ring daily. The large upper windows depict scenes from the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary, while the lower nave and transept windows depict images of popular saints of the Franciscan Order and of the heritage of the cultures represented in the community at the time (German, Spanish, Irish).^{[citation needed]}

According to its National Register nomination, "All stained glass was done byEmil Frei Art Glass Companyof St. Louis. TheStations of the Cross,cast in high relief on gold background, were made byAndrew Kaletta Companyof St. Louis. The woodwork and pews, all of oak, were made byTheodore Kuntzof Cleveland. "^[2]

The design for the church was developed while it was under direction of theFranciscan Fathers of the Sacred Heart Provinceof St. Louis, Missouri.^[2]One source describes its architecture asMission Revivalwith someRomanesquefeatures;^[2]that source and another indicate that plans for the church evolved fromGothic Revivalsketches by pastor Novatus Benzing.^[3]Upon request for consulting,Franciscan FatherLeonard Darscheid of St. Louis "added a number of features, including the design for the baptismal font, to what at that point was a gothic plan".^[2]In its detail it was designed by parishioner and architectGeorge Gallagher (architect)and design was completed by Gallagher's partnerR. A. Gray (architect).It was built, at least partially (including its basement), by contractor W. J. Ripley.^[3]^[2]

The building was added to theNational Register of Historic Placesin 1978, deemed significant for its architecture, as "St. Mary's Church".^[2]The building was deemed architecturally significant "as the largest, earliest, and most impressive Mission Revival structure in Arizona."^[2]

Basilica

Pope John Paul IIelevated St. Mary's to the rank of a minorbasilicain 1985, two years before his visit to Phoenix in 1987, when he visited St. Mary's and addressed crowds of thousands from the balcony on the facade. The principal symbols of its status as a basilica – thetintinnabulum(large bell on a column) and theombrellone(large gold and red umbrella) – are displayed in the sanctuary. St. Mary's became the 32nd basilica in the United States and remains the only basilica in Arizona. The church, aPhoenix Points of Pride,is located at the northeast corner of North 3rd Street and Monroe in downtown Phoenix, a carillon of theCopper Square.^{[clarification needed]}

Clergy and staff

Until 2023, the basilica was staffed by theFranciscan Friarsof the Province of Saint Barbara, whose coat of arms and various symbolism can be found displayed prominently throughout the building. On September 13, 2022, the Franciscans announced they would be withdrawing from the basilica, due to falling numbers of clergy and a national change in governance structure. On July 1, 2023, the Diocese of Phoenix officially took over leadership of St. Mary's from the Franciscans when the Franciscans presented and handed over the keys of the basilica to BishopJohn P. Dolanof the Diocese of Phoenix.^[4]

On October 15, 2023, Fr. John Muir of the Diocese of Phoenix was officially installed as rector of St. Mary's Basilica by Bishop Dolan.^[5]Fr. Muir also serves as theModerator of the CuriaandVicar Generalof the Diocese of Phoenix.

Due to the centrality of its location and its historical importance, many of the important liturgical events of theDiocese of Phoenixare split between the basilica and theCathedral of Saints Simon and Jude,with the bishop of Phoenix as the principal celebrant.

Gallery

Interior of St. Mary's Basilica
Bishop Thomas Olmsted celebrating Mass in the Basilica
Celebrations for the Feast of Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe outside the Basilica on December 12
Christmas Midnight Mass at St. Mary's Basilica
Palm Sunday Mass taking place outside Saint Mary's Basilica
Holy Week/Semana Santa services at the Basilica
Pipes inside the Basilica Organ
Latin inscription on the bell dedicated to the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Pope John Paul II visiting St. Mary's Basilica in 1987
The Basilica Rose Window
Pipe Organ, Choir and Rose Window