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Originally published: 29 October 2006
By Liz F. Kay
Sun staff
High above the city, the church loomed. So it was for the great cathedrals
of Europe - of Chartres and Notre Dame and Salisbury and Orvieto. And so
it was for the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in
Baltimore.
For much of the 19th century, the neo-classical cathedral, built on a hill
north of what was then the city center, was the most prominent feature of
Baltimore's skyline.
Skyscrapers have since grown to overshadow the cathedral and its primacy
in the birth of the Catholic church in America has been forgotten by many.
But now there is hope that the cathedral - reopening Saturday after a
two-year, $32 million restoration - will reassert its importance in the
history of the church, of the city and the country, giving it the appeal
great European cathedrals have to both the religious and the curious.
Mark J. Potter, executive director of the Basilica Historic Trust, points
out that unlike European cities, trips to an American metropolis rarely
include a stop at a cathedral. "I think we have the opportunity here in
America to change that," he said.
The life story of the cathedral, now known as the Basilica of the National
Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is rich enough to
have such an appeal.
Construction began exactly 200 years ago on what was the first cathedral
constructed in the United States after the American Revolution. It is in
the first diocese established in the country, in the most prominent city
of the state that fought the hardest for the rights of Roman Catholics and
other religious minorities in the colonies and the new country.
It was designed by Benjamin Henry Latrobe, one of the nascent nation's
most prominent architects - responsible for the U.S. Capitol and other
iconic structures - to make a statement about the religion and the nation.
"What the basilica rededication helps us to do is emphasize for our own
people the important role that Baltimore had in the early days of the
church in the United States," said Cardinal William H. Keeler in an
interview at Baltimore's Catholic Center last week.
Keeler has spent nearly two decades as Baltimore's archbishop and the
basilica restoration is seen by many as a key part of his legacy.
"This church can now tell a story," said Potter.
That story is the story of the Catholic church in America. The roots of
even such large dioceses as New York and Boston can be to traced back to
Baltimore. Bishops met within the basilica to make decisions that
established and furthered Catholicism in this country.
"So many people today only think of the Catholic Church as it is today, 60
million Catholics and all these dioceses and parishes," Potter said.
"They're so unaware of the modest beginnings of the church in this
country."
It is also the story of a new nation trying to establish itself in all
ways, including architecturally.
American Catholic leaders decided Baltimore's cathedral should break from
the heavily ornamented style of Europe. Historians say the building's
structure reflects the era in which it, and the new nation, was born.
John Carroll, the Baltimore diocese's first bishop, "built a church that
was in its style and everything very American," said Jay P. Dolan,
professor emeritus of history at the University of Notre Dame and author
of In Search of an American Catholicism: a History of Religion and Culture
in Tension.
"When Carroll and the cathedral trustees sought an architect, they didn't
go to Europe. They looked to the nation's capital," Dolan said. "They
wanted a cathedral that would fit with the times, a style compatible with
the ideals of the Enlightenment - order, harmony, quiet, dignity."
Latrobe volunteered his services and designed a house of worship in the
neoclassical style favored by Thomas Jefferson, said state archivist
Edward C. Papenfuse. Construction began in 1806.
The earliest Baltimore guidebooks mention the basilica. "It is an
extraordinary example of American architecture and needs to be seen in
that light," Papenfuse said. "Whether you were Catholic or not, you would
come and see this remarkable structure."
Beyond its architectural style, the church made a statement about American
ideals, embodying Carroll and his family's belief in religious freedom. "I
believe it is a monument to the Catholic experience in Maryland, which was
persistently an effort to establish a place in America where they could
practice freely," Papenfuse said.
The nation's first Catholic bishop grew up in
a time when members of his faith were widely persecuted. He and Charles
Carroll of Carrollton - his cousin and one of the signers of the
Declaration of Independence - were ardent proponents of religious freedom
who worked within Maryland to establish rules by which different faiths
could live together peacefully in a predominantly Protestant America. The
style and prominence of the cathedral gave powerful affirmation of that
goal.
They influenced what became "our concept of what should be the right of
every citizen in America," Papenfuse said.
But the long history that gives the basilica such importance also took its
toll. The just-completed renovation upgraded the building's aging
infrastructure, providing modern sound and heating and ventilation systems
and improved accessibility with ramps and an elevator. There was also
basic maintenance - the basilica was last painted 60 years ago; its
130-year-old roof was replaced.
Parts of the restoration sought to re-establish elements of Latrobe's
vision that had been altered over time. Skylights that once permitted
natural light to filter through the dome were replaced. Other
improvements, such as the creation of the new Our Lady Seat of Wisdom
Chapel in the undercroft, were included in Latrobe's original design but
never executed.
More controversial alterations removed features added over the years. The
replacement of stained-glass windows installed in the 1940s with clear
ones was widely protested.
The project yielded some surprises, pleasant and unpleasant. Workers
uncovered murals in the dome of the four evangelists, or authors of the
Gospels. Hidden in the undercroft was the original bishop's chair. But,
they also had to dig through unexpected masonry to install the heating and
ventilation system.
The historical significance of the building did not stop with its
construction. The cathedral - given special ceremonial privileges when its
status was raised to a minor basilica in 1937 - was also the setting for
such important 19th-century bishops' decisions such as the establishment
of the Catholic school system and the Catholic University of America, and
the formation of a guide to Catholic doctrine that became known as the
Baltimore Catechism.
These gatherings, particularly the Third Plenary Council of 1884, helped
establish "a growing sense of a national consciousness as a church," said
R. Scott Appleby, a Catholic historian at Notre Dame.
Artifacts from the basilica will be featured in a new museum that will
display "lots of stuff that's been in closets," Potter said, such as
letters between Thomas Jefferson and the third archbishop, Ambrose
Marechal. who served from 1817 to 1828 and presided at the basilica's
opening in 1821.
The trust estimates that between 80,000 and 90,000 people visit the
basilica annually; they anticipate that the number will jump to "hundreds
of thousands" in the first year. "The responsibility is really on us to
make sure that that continues," Potter said.
The trust has invited Catholic parishes and schools from as far as
northern New Jersey, New York City and Richmond, Va., to visit the
basilica and learn about Catholic history, Potter said. The groups could
dovetail the trip with visits to the original chapel of St. Mary's
Seminary, the country's first Catholic seminary, as well as the nearby
home of St. Elizabeth Seton, the first American-born saint. Travelers
interested in religious history could drop in on the nation's first
Methodist church, Lovely Lane, and the Lloyd Street Synagogue, the
country's third-oldest Jewish house of worship.
The restoration, including architectural and other fees, has cost $32
million so far and could rise to $34 million, Potter said.
Some might question the millions spent on the basilica at a time of
retrenchment for Baltimore City's Catholic schools and ever-present needs
for social services. Keeler said funding for education and charities had
always taken fund-raising priority over the cathedral project, which was
funded by private gifts to the historic trust.
Keeler said he hopes American Catholics will recognize their connection to
this "national shrine" and offer financial support. "I hope our people
will gain a new pride in their historic roots here from it," he said.
Appleby, the Notre Dame historian, described the restoration effort as a
fitting testament to Keeler's work as a cardinal. After his 75th birthday
this year, he sent his required letter of retirement to the Vatican. Pope
Benedict XVI, who can permit Keeler to remain in his position until age
80, has not yet responded.
"Part of the genius behind this project is it's part of a plan to
evangelize the next generation of Baltimorean Catholics," Appleby said.
"It's a fitting legacy for Cardinal Keeler, who's interested in something
much more than architectural reclamation."
"He was handed a torch and he's handing it on."
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