Минеаполистің тарихи Әулие Мария Базиликасы

Historic church in Minnesota, United States

The Basilica of Saint Mary is a Roman Catholic minor basilica located on its own city block along Hennepin Avenue between 16th and 17th Streets in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota. It was the first basilica established in the United States. The Basilica of Saint Mary is the co cathedral of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis.

The Basilica of Saint Mary replaced a previous church, the Church of the Immaculate Conception. It was originally built in 1871, located at 3rd Street and 3rd Avenue North, but the expanding warehouse district was engulfing the church property. Archbishop John Ireland announced plans for a new Church of the Immaculate Conception on Christmas Day, 1903. In 1905, Lawrence S. Donaldson donated a one block parcel on Hennepin Avenue near Loring Park for the new church buildings. The design was awarded to Franco American architect Emmanuel Louis Masqueray, the designer of the Cathedral of Saint Paul. Masqueray designed it in a Beaux Arts style. The groundbreaking was held on August 7, 1907, with foundation construction continuing through May 1908. The cornerstone was laid on May 31, 1908, with a ceremony involving 30,000 Catholics, twenty bishops, 300 priests and seminarians from the Saint Paul Seminary, and 500 cadets from the College of Saint Thomas. As construction on the Basilica and the St. Paul Cathedral progressed, Masqueray's architectural genius attracted attention. American Architect magazine commented, "The two Catholic Cathedrals will be when completed, noteworthy achievements in church building for any period; in extent and splendor they promise to surpass anything yet attempted in ecclesiastical work in the United States." Civic dedication of the church took place on November 4, 1913, and the church was informally opened on May 31, 1914. It was informally referred to as the Pro Cathedral of the archdiocese from its beginning, but the parish was still officially named the Church of the Immaculate Conception until September 21, 1921. It was formally named the Procathedral of Saint Mary at that time. Although the building was open for worship in 1914, the interior decoration, windows, and plaster work were not completed until 1925. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. In 2020, the basilica received minor fire damage during the rioting and arson that accompanied the George Floyd protests in Minneapolis–Saint Paul, with two pews being splashed with flammable liquid and burned.

Since 1995, the site has been the venue for the annual Basilica Block Party music festival, which has been described as "summertime's hottest church party". The event raises money toward the ongoing restoration of the Basilica of St. Mary.