St. Fidelis Basilica

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St. Fidelis
inner space

The Basilica of St. Fidelis , often referred to as the Cathedral of the Plains , is a neo-Romanesque Roman Catholic parish church in the American town of Victoria in the state of Kansas . It received the status of a basilica minor in 2014 and is therefore sometimes referred to as the basilica of the plains .

history

The church was built between 1908 and 1911 by Catholic German-American and Russian- Germans and received the patronage of St. Fidelis from Sigmaringen . Their colored windows therefore have German-language inscriptions that indicate different donors. According to the history of the Church of its origin was at the time asked each parishioner from the age of twelve, a year 45 dollars to enter and six truckloads of stones, to support the construction. The then presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan gave it the nickname Cathedral of the Plains after a visit to Victoria in 1912. The 48 historic colored glass windows were installed by Chicago's Munich Studios in 1916 at a price of US $ 3,700 and are now valued at valued at over a million dollars. In 1971 the church was added to the US National Register of Historic Places .

In 1994 a series of restoration work began on the church. More than $ 265,000 was donated to weatherproof the outdoor area, beautify the indoor area, and update the sound, power, and heating systems. A marble floor was built into the altar area for $ 60,000 , replacing the old carpet and linoleum floors. The roof received new shingles worth $ 137,000 in 2006 . In 2011, the parking lots and sidewalks near the church were relocated at a cost of $ 225,000. $ 70,000 went towards repairing the stucco ceilings and walls, which had broken over time. A plastic cover was installed in the mid-1980s to protect any colored window from the storms common in Kansas . The windows became unclear over time and therefore replaced with tempered glass in 2013.

After approval by the Vatican in early March 2014, Bishop Edward Weisenburger of the Diocese of Salina elevated the Church of St. Fidelis to a minor basilica on June 7, 2014 .

Web links

Commons : Basilica of St. Fidelis  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ National Register of Historic Places nomination for St. Fidelis Church
  2. ^ Kansas' Cathedral of the Plains sprucing up stained-glass windows. The Kansas City Star, November 2, 2013, accessed September 4, 2017 .
  3. ^ Kansas church, dubbed 'Cathedral of the Plains,' named minor basilica. Catholic News, March 17, 2014, accessed September 4, 2017 .
  4. ^ Basilica of St. Fidelis on gcatholic.org

Coordinates: 38 ° 51 '23.3 "  N , 99 ° 9' 2.2"  W.