Basilica · Other

Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception

Washington D.C., USA

"The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington DC is the largest Catholic c..."

Highlights

1The largest Catholic church in North America — covering approximately 77,500 square metres
2Over 70 chapels represent the ethnic diversity of American Catholicism The Trinity Dome contains the largest mosaic in the Western hemisphere Funded entirely by voluntary donations from American Catholics across the country Our Lady under the Immaculate Conception title was designated Patroness of the USA in 1847

Getting There

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Address

400 Michigan Ave NE, Washington, DC 20017, USA

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Directions

Metro Red Line to Brookland-CUA station (2-minute walk to the basilica). By car: Michigan Avenue NE, off Route 1. Parking available on site. 4 km from Union Station.

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Timings

Current time — Eastern Time (ET)

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When	Hours	Note
Basilica	7:00 AM - 7:00 PM

Masses & Events

Daily Mass

7, 8, 9, 11 AM; 12:10, 5:30, 7 PM

Active shrine schedule

Sunday Solemn Mass

12:10 PM Sundays

With the

Shrine choir National Votive Mass

December 8

The principal annual celebration; capacity crowd from across the USA

Must See

The Trinity Dome

Above the main nave The Golden Dome of the Trinity, completed in 1964, contains the largest mosaic in the Western hemisphere

Christ in Majesty flanked by Mary and John, surrounded by prophets and saints. The dome diameter is 29 metres. The effect of looking upward into the glittering gold and blue is overwhelming.

The Ethnic Chapels

Throughout the lower church (crypt) and upper church Over 70 chapels dedicated to Marian apparitions, saints, and the Virgin under titles from every nation and ethnic tradition in American Catholicism. From the Polish chapel of Our Lady of Czestochowa to the Vietnamese chapel of Our Lady of La Vang to the Cuban chapel

together they constitute a pilgrimage through the diversity of American Catholic immigration history.

The Crypt Church

Lower level The lower church, built and consecrated before the upper basilica, has its own atmospheric quality: lower ceilings, intimate chapels, and the devotional density of a space that has been in continuous use since the 1920s. The crypt altar is the historic heart of the shrine.

The Memorial Hall

Main entrance level The great entrance hall, with its memorial to all American Catholics who contributed to the shrine's construction, communicates the democratic character of this national church. Every diocese in the US contributed; hundreds of thousands of individual donations are recorded. The Campanile (Bell Tower)

Exterior [OUTDOOR] The 139-metre campanile rises above the basilica and can be seen from miles across the Washington skyline. The bells include the bourdon bell, cast in France, dedicated to peace. The tower is visible from the Mall and from the Capitol Hill area — a Catholic landmark at the heart of American civic geography.

Intentions

Carry these intentions into the Basilica with you — pause at each sacred spot and lift them to God.

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For the United States of America and its Catholic community

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For the many immigrant communities who built this church and whose chapels line its walls

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For a unity of faith across the diversity of American Catholicism

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For those seeking the Virgin's protection in a divided nation

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For Catholic students at the adjacent Catholic University of America

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For religious liberty — the principle that allowed this church to be built

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For peace — that the great bell cast in France may ring for it

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For all Americans who contributed a dollar to build a church they might never visit

Reflection

Over 70 chapels for 70 different national and ethnic traditions. A Vietnamese Our Lady alongside a Polish Black Madonna alongside a Latin American Our Lady of Guadalupe alongside an African American chapel. This building is an argument about what American Catholicism is: not one thing, but many things, each bringing its own image of Mary, each contributing to the same immense roof. The basilica is both a theological statement about Mary and a sociological statement about immigration. They are not as different as they seem.

Suggested Scripture — Galatians 3:28

There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Read in full on Bible Gateway →

A Pilgrim's Prayer

Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, Patroness of the United States, receive the prayer of this nation — diverse, divided, earnest, and in need. I come to a church built by the contributions of millions of ordinary people from every background. Let their faith and mine combine into something worthy of the dome above me. Let America be worthy of its Patroness. Amen.

The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington DC is the largest Catholic church in North America and one of the largest in the world, covering approximately 77,500 square metres. Completed in stages from 1920 to the 1990s, it stands on the grounds of the Catholic University of America, a few kilometres from the US Capitol. Its Byzantine-Romanesque style and 139-metre campanile are landmarks of the Washington skyline.

A National Votive Offering

The basilica is a national votive offering to the Virgin Mary under her title of the Immaculate Conception — the patronal title of the United States, declared by Pope Pius IX in 1847. The building was funded entirely by donations from American Catholics, and its chapels and apses — over 70 of them — reflect the ethnic diversity of American Catholicism: a Vietnamese chapel, a Polish chapel, a Filipino chapel, an African American chapel, and chapels for Irish, Italian, Latin American and Central European immigrants.

Architecture and Worship

The Trinity Dome above the main nave is the largest mosaic in the Western hemisphere. The vast interior, with its 5,000-pipe organ and capacity for 6,000 worshippers, hosts the annual National Votive Mass on December 8 (Feast of the Immaculate Conception), a national holy day of obligation that draws Catholics from across the country.