Compiled a list of "did you know?" facts about The Basilica of Saint Mary

1. Did You Know?
• The Basilica will partner with CommonBond to build 53 units of affordable housing on the city’s
North Side.
• The Basilica of Saint Mary was designated America’s first Basilica by Pope Pius XI in 1926.
• Construction for The Basilica began on August 7, 1907 with a groundbreaking ceremony. The first
Mass was celebrated on May 31, 1914 when the exterior was finished.
• Angels are the most prevalent image in The Basilica, even outnumbering Mary. The ballpark
figure for the number of angels in The Basilica is several thousand.
• Mary is represented as Our Lady of Immaculate Conception, Our Lady of Guadalupe, Our Lady of
La’vang, Our Lady of Africa, Mother of Divine Mercy, and Our Lady of Tenderness.
• The height of The Basilica reaches to 75 feet. The height from the sanctuary floor to the dome is
138 feet.
• The Basilica seats up to 1200 in pews.
• Each year more than 150 brides walk down The Basilica’s aisle and more than 200 babies are
baptized.
• In the east tower, one can glimpse the now-silent cracked bell that first hung in 1877 at The
Basilica’s predecessor parish, Immaculate Conception; its weight is 3,000 pounds.
• Through our St. Vincent de Paul program, shoes and transportation assistance are provided to 250
people every week, as well as food and shelter to nearly 6,000 people every month.
• The statue of Our Lady of Grace atop the baldachin is 9 ft tall.
• In 1866, 8 years after Minnesota became a state, the Immaculate Conception parish church/school
building opened for students, with Sunday Mass. It was the second parish in Minneapolis and the
first Catholic school.
• The colors within The Basilica are the colors of Mary: white of purity, blue of truth, gold of glory
and red of love.
• The 12 statues of the apostles atop the Sanctuary gates are scale replicas of statues in the Major
Basilica of St. John Lateran, Rome.
• The first female acolytes served The Basilica altar in the early 1970s.
• The first organ was originally used in the State Theater in Minneapolis.
• March 26, 1931 – WCCO Radio aired the first religious broadcast from a Catholic church in
Minneapolis from The Basilica. It included part of the three-hour Good Friday devotion and The
Basilica choir.
• The first Parish Council meeting was held December 7, 1969.
• In 1990 The Basilica through Branch II gave away 1600 pairs of shoes, by 2009 this number rose
to 6758 pairs of shoes given away through the shoe voucher program.
• The Basilica (then Pro-Cathedral) was the first church in Minneapolis to install a “voice
amplifying system,” in 1922.
• On April 1, 1940, The Basilica church, Sacristy & Rectory were paid for. They took 21 years to
build (1907 – 1928) and cost $1,775,000.
• There used to be two rough bathrooms located in the basement of the church – with the freeway
construction in the 1960s, the water table rose and “rather than flushing, they became fountains.”
• On Christmas Day, 1903, Archbishop Ireland preaching in the Church of the Immaculate
Conception announced his plan for a new Pro-Cathedral in Minneapolis.
• On June 8, 1936, the dome was struck by lightning. The nave filled with smoke, but a small blaze
in the inner roof was extinguished by nimble firefighters with hand extinguishers.
• The coat of arms of The Basilica, designed by Pierre de Chaignon LaRose of Cambridge, Mass.
was received on January 20, 1928.
• The chapel of St. Anthony was originally intended as a chapel to St. Patrick, and a small stone
shamrock can be found on the wall nearby.
• The Basilica campus was once home to a zoo and fish market, owned by Robert “Fish” Jones.

2. • To change the light bulbs there is a catwalk between the ceiling and roof, which is accessed
through a stairwell in the gallery.
• The first wedding in the new Sacristy – April 29, 1928. Miss Clare Samels married to Robert E.
Albrecht of St. Paul.
• Two former parish rectors have gone on to become Bishops: Bishop James McGolrick, (Rector
1868-1889, Bishop of Duluth 1889-1918) and Archbishop James J. Keane, (Rector 1892-1902,
Bishop of Cheyenne 1902-1911, Archbishop of Dubuque 1911-1929). Bishop Leonard P. Cowley
was already named an Auxiliary Bishop when he took the rectorship in 1963.
• The Basilica dome is taller than the Statue of Liberty.
• The Basilica Young Adults have participated in at least one service project a month since
September of 2010. BYA has served hundreds through making sandwiches for the hungry, visiting
with nursing home residents, raking leaves for senior citizens, packaging food for Feed My
Starving Children, Habitat for Humanity builds, and much more.
• The Basilica Young Adult softball team’s record for this past fall was 5-3. To win their first game,
the team scored 10 runs in the last inning to come back and win. Thirty five BYA’s played on the
team throughout the season.
• Each Tuesday evening from September up until past Easter, more than 90 people gather as a part
of The Basilica’s RCIA process. The group is comprised of inquirers, sponsors and team
members.
• Collectively, the six members of the Learning team at The Basilica have 136 years of experience
in ministry in the Catholic church.
• 100% of gifts to St. Vincent de Paul go directly to outreach.