St. Mary's Basilica 261/365

Saint Mary's Basilica, officially named The Church of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix was founded in 1881 and has been staffed by the Franciscan Friars since 1895. Church construction began in 1903 and was completed in 1913. It is the oldest Roman Catholic parish in the greater Phoenix area and is home to Arizona's largest stained glass windows collection. The church's Spanish Mission structure supports four domes spanning the length of the Basilica. Pope John Paul II designated St. Mary’s a minor basilica in 1984. It thereby became the 32nd basilica in the US and remains the only basilica in Arizona. John Paul visited the church three years later in 1987. The church bells, after 20 years of silence, were reactivated in 2008. I was fortunate enough to hear the bells twice today while visiting downtown Phoenix. The basilica is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as well as the Phoenix Historic Property Register.


To see photos of St. Mary’s gardens, please visit FKH Photo Journal HERE.