Basilica of St. Francis Xavier

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Exterior view of the basilica
Main nave
Side altar of the Coronation of Mary

The Basilica of St. Francis Xavier is a Roman Catholic church in Dyersville in the US state of Iowa . The parish church of the Archdiocese of Dubuque was dedicated to the missionary Franz Xavier . The neo-Gothic church bears the title of a minor basilica and was included in the National Register of Historic Places together with the rectory .

history

Dyersville was originally settled by English immigrants. Within a few years the English moved on and many German immigrants came to the region. A parish was established for these immigrants in 1859. The first St. Franz Xaver Church was completed in 1862. The parish grew rapidly and the church had to be doubled by 1869. In 1880 the need for a larger church became apparent and planning began in the mid-1880s. The architects Fridolin Heer senior and jr. from Dubuque designed the neo-Gothic church. Construction began in 1887 and the foundation stone was laid on June 3, 1888. The new church was solemnly consecrated on December 3, 1889 by Bishop John Hennessy. The rectory was built west of the church in 1935. In the 1940s, preparatory work began to achieve the status of a basilica. On May 11, 1956, the church of Pope Pius XII. raised to the minor basilica. It was the twelfth church in the United States to receive this honor. The south side of the basilica was added in 1989. It contained an elevator, toilets and access to the basement of the basilica. The interior of the church was renovated from 2000 to 2001.

architecture

The neo-Gothic style shows influences from England, France and Germany. The two towers are 65 meters high and bear 4.3 meters high crosses. The three-aisled hall church has a rectangular floor plan of 53 by 21 meters and a height of 23 meters. On the west side it closes with a polygonal apse. The interior includes columns and vaulted ceilings. The church can accommodate about 1000 people.

Furnishing

The interior of the church is adorned with a number of paintings and frescoes. Much of this work was performed by members of the Brielmaier family , Clotilda and Alphonse, from 1904 to 1905 . The original frescoes were revised and partially covered in 1930 and 1955. Above the high altar is a large central painting of the heavenly liturgy mentioned in Revelation : The Adoration of the Mystical Lamb of God.

The two side altars were designed by John Erhard Brielmaier and erected in March 1897. They measure 11 × 4.6 m and are made of butternut wood . [3] The altar of Mary is called The Coronation and the Altar of Joseph is called The Holy Family . Brielmaier also designed the 16 meter high butternut canopy for the high altar, which was made from Italian marble. Both were installed in December 1897. The wood-carved walnut crucifix above the altar was created in 1873 for the first church by a parishioner from his own tree. The ornate pulpit from 1906 is to the left of the altar. Also carved in butternut, it was originally in the nave and had a carved canopy over it. The images carved on the pulpit include the Evangelists, the Apostles Peter and Paul and five Doctors of the Church: Ambrose of Milan , Jerome , Gregory the Great , Augustine of Hippo and Thomas Aquinas . A free-standing altar was made in 1973 by Fritz Ganshirt.

The church has 64 large glass windows. The rose window above the entrance to the church, which was installed in 1959, is remarkable . It replaced a conventional church window. A Native American motif was chosen in recognition of many of the local Native American tribes who inhabited the area 150 years earlier.

Wicks Organ Company of Highland , Illinois, built a 37-register organ for the basilica in 1971, which replaced the original organ of the.

Web links

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

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Basilica of St. Francis Xavier on gcatholic.org
  2. ↑ History of the basilica (English)
  3. ↑ a b c d Clarabelle Baum: Basilica of St. Francis Xavier, Church and Rectory. (pdf) National Park Service , accessed March 28, 2019 .
  4. ↑ Description of the Basilica (English)

Coordinates: 42 ° 29 '3.8 "  N , 91 ° 7' 34.3"  W.