St. Adalbert's Basilica

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Entrance facade
Crossing dome with opaion

The Basilica of St. Adalbert ( English Basilica of St. Adalbert ) is a Roman Catholic church in Grand Rapids in the US state of Michigan . The parish church of the Grand Rapids diocese is dedicated to Adalbert of Prague and has the title of a minor basilica .

history

The St. Adalbert Basilica goes back to the founding of the St. Adalbert Aid Society in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1872; the name after St. Adalbert was chosen by the inhabitants of Polish origin in his capacity as the patron saint of Poland. The purpose of the society was to help new Polish immigrants to Grand Rapids find housing and employment. In 1880 she bought two pieces of land and in June 1881 construction began on a small wooden church. Ten years later the frame structure was enlarged. In 1892 the association built a large boardroom that is still in use.

Work on today's church began in July 1907. The foundation stone was laid on August 18, 1907, and construction was completed in spring 1913. It was built by the Andrews Brothers Company in Cleveland, Ohio. The original wooden church was used as the Assumption Church in Belmont until the late 1980s . Pope John Paul II elevated St. Adalbert's Church to a minor basilica on August 22, 1979. The solemn proclamation took place in connection with the 100th anniversary of the parish on February 16, 1980.

architecture

The neo-Romanesque church was designed by Cleveland architect Henry J. Harks and built under the direction of Grand Rapids architect Chris Vierheilig. The outer walls of the basilica are clad with limestone. The two towers that flank the facade are 41 meters high and the large central dome reaches a height of 46 meters. The copper-clad crossing dome on the inside shows neo-Byzantine influence and a central opaion , while the large rose window of the double tower facade was borrowed from the Gothic . The cruciform church has a length of 59 meters and a width of 29 meters in the crossing, the nave is 24 meters wide.

The stained glass windows of the basilica were designed by A. Artmaier and made by craftsmen from Munich. Edmund Verlinden designed the altars, the pulpit, the baptismal font and the confessionals.

Web links

Commons : Basilica of St. Adalbert  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Basilica of St. Adalbert on gcatholic.org (English)
  2. ↑ a b History of the Basilica (English)
  3. ↑ a b c Eduard Skendzel: The Basilica of Saint Adalbert: A Great Temple of God on the Grand. 1980, accessed November 18, 2019 .

Coordinates: 42 ° 58 '30.7 "  N , 85 ° 41' 4.6"  W.