St. Mary's Basilica – officially The Church of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary – is a church of the Diocese of Phoenix located at 231 North 3rd Street at the corner of East Monroe Street in

downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in American and Canadian English to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ( ...

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

. It was previously known as St. Mary's Church. It was built from 1902 to 1914 in a combination of the

Mission Revival The Mission Revival style was part of an architectural movement, beginning in the late 19th century, for the revival and reinterpretation of American colonial styles. Mission Revival drew inspiration from the late 18th and early 19th century ...

and

Spanish Colonial Revival The Spanish Colonial Revival architecture (), often known simply as Spanish Revival, is a term used to encompass a number of revivalist architectural styles based in both Spanish colonial architecture and Spanish architecture in general. Thes ...

styles, 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 the

Franciscan Friars The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor being the largest contem ...

, but it is currently staffed and operated by clergy of the Diocese of Phoenix. The current church was elevated to a

minor basilica Basilicas are Catholic church buildings that have a designation, conferring special privileges, given by the Pope. Basilicas are distinguished for ceremonial purposes from other churches. The building need not be a basilica in the architectura ...

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

in 1985. The oldest

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

parish church in the greater Phoenix area, St. Mary's was the only parish in Phoenix until 1924 and is home to Arizona's largest stained glass windows collection and a 26-rank pipe organ built by the Schantz 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, following

Roman architecture Ancient Roman architecture adopted the external language of classical ancient Greek architecture for the purposes of the ancient Romans, but was different from Greek buildings, becoming a new architectural style. The two styles are often con ...

, transferring the weight of the roof to the pillars. The dome over the intercept point of the crossover, the nave center aisle and the

apse In architecture, an apse (: apses; from Latin , 'arch, vault'; from Ancient Greek , , 'arch'; sometimes written apsis; : apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical Vault (architecture), vault or semi-dome, also known as an ' ...

, 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 a

cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, usually dome-like structure on top of a building often crowning a larger roof or dome. Cupolas often serve as a roof lantern to admit light and air or as a lookout. The word derives, via Ital ...

designed 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). According to its National Register nomination, "All stained glass was done by Emil Frei Art Glass Company of St. Louis. The

Stations of the Cross The Stations of the Cross or the Way of the Cross, also known as the Via Dolorosa, Way of Sorrows or the , are a series of fourteen images depicting Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ on the day of Crucifixion of Jesus, his crucifixion and acc ...

, cast in high relief on gold background, were made by Andrew Kaletta Company of St. Louis. The woodwork and pews, all of oak, were made by Theodore Kuntz of Cleveland." The design for the church was developed while it was under direction of the Franciscan Fathers of the Sacred Heart Province of St. Louis, Missouri. One source describes its architecture as

with some Romanesque features; that source and another indicate that plans for the church evolved from

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

sketches by pastor Novatus Benzing. Upon request for consulting, Franciscan Father Leonard 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". In its detail it was designed by parishioner and architect George Gallagher (architect) and design was completed by Gallagher's partner R. A. Gray (architect). It was built, at least partially (including its basement), by contractor W. J. Ripley. The building was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1978, deemed significant for its architecture, as "St. Mary's Church". With The building was deemed architecturally significant "as the largest, earliest, and most impressive Mission Revival structure in Arizona."

Basilica

elevated St. Mary's to the rank of a minor

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica (Greek Basiliké) was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek Eas ...

in 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 – the tintinnabulum (large bell on a column) and the ombrellone (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, a

Phoenix Points of Pride The Phoenix Points of Pride are 31 landmarks and attractions in Phoenix, Arizona, selected by voters since 1992 to represent the city's best features for residents and visitors. They include structures, such as St. Mary's Basilica, Phoenix, St. M ...

, is located at the northeast corner of North 3rd Street and Monroe in downtown Phoenix, a carillon of the Copper Square.

Clergy and staff

Until 2023, the basilica was staffed by the

of 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 Bishop John P. Dolan of the Diocese of Phoenix. 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. Fr. Muir also serves as the

Moderator of the Curia Moderator of the curia is a top administrative position held by a Catholic priest in a diocese under the supervision of the bishop. The moderator coordinates the exercise of the administrative duties and oversees the office holders, or curia, in ...

and

Vicar General A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop or archbishop of a diocese or an archdiocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vica ...

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

Gallery

File:InteriorSMB.jpg, Interior of St. Mary's Basilica File:BishopSMB 01.jpg, Bishop Thomas Olmsted celebrating Mass in the Basilica File:OLOG 1.jpg, Celebrations for the Feast of Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe outside the Basilica on December 12 File:Midnight Mass SMB 01.jpg, Christmas Midnight Mass at St. Mary's Basilica File:Palm sunday1.jpg, Palm Sunday Mass taking place outside Saint Mary's Basilica File:Holy Week1.jpg, Holy Week/Semana Santa services at the Basilica File:Organ1.jpg, Pipes inside the Basilica Organ File:Bells3.jpg, Latin inscription on the bell dedicated to the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary File:Pope John Paul SMB 01.jpg, Pope John Paul II visiting St. Mary's Basilica in 1987 , Pope John Paul II visiting St. Mary's Basilica in 1987 File:WindowSMB 01.jpg, The Basilica Rose Window File:WindowSMB 02.jpg, Pipe Organ, Choir and Rose Window File:St. Mary's Basilica stained glass 17.jpg File:St. Mary's Basilica stained glass 18.jpg File:St. Mary's Basilica stained glass 19.jpg

References

External links

St. Mary's Official Website

Order of Friars Minor Santa Barbara Province Official Website

Order of Friars Minor Official Website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Mary's Basilica, Phoenix Roman Catholic churches in Phoenix, Arizona

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a female given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religion * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also called the Blesse ...