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Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception
By Margaret Hutton
Special to washingtonpost.com
Sunday, December 13, 1998
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Visitor Information
Address: 400 Michigan Ave. NE
Washington, D.C. 20017-1566
Phone: 202/526-8300
Fax: 202/526-8313
Metro: Red line/Brookland/CUA stop
E-mail: shrine@cris.com
Web: www.nationalshrine.com
Hours: Nov. 1-March 31: 7 a.m.-6 p.m.
April 1-Oct. 31: 7 a.m.-7 p.m.
Christmas, Jan. 1 and Easter have special schedules.
Guided Tours: Monday through Saturday 9-11 a.m. and 1-3 p.m. Sunday 1:30-4 p.m. Group tours by special arrangement. No Admission charge.
Food: Cafeteria open daily from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
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In the northeast quadrant of the city lies a slice of Rome, the
Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. On a clear
day, the sky perfectly sets off its blue, yellow and red tiled dome,
rising heavenward atop the massive limestone church. A few superlatives set this church apart from others: It's the largest Catholic church in the Western Hemisphere and the eighth largest in
the world; it also holds the largest mosaic image of Christ in the world.
And the term basilica denotes a special status: Pope John Paul II named
the National Shrine a basilica in 1990, affirming its importance as a
center of worship.
But the story told in the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception is that of Catholics in America
as much as it is that of the Vatican tradition. Carvings and mosaics on the
walls of the Upper Church record the history of Catholicism in the New
World, from Columbus's discovery of America to the priests who founded
missions across the country.
The idea for a "hymn in stone" came from Bishop Thomas Shahan, rector
of the Catholic University of America (which is adjacent to the basilica). The first stone
was laid in 1920 and the shrine was finished in 1959, stalled by the
Depression and World War II. Though the church has held daily masses since
that time, the basilica remains a shrine, not a parish church with its own
congregation.
The Virgin Mary, of course, is at the root of all this, as she is
the shrine's honoree. (Immaculate Conception refers to Mary, mother of
Jesus Christ, who was deemed to be absent of original sin from the first
moment of her conception.) Although the church and the Crypt form a
storybook of saints, leaders of the faith, apostles, prophets,
martyrs – all of which can be read in the stained-glass windows, mosaics and statues – devotion to
Mary is the overriding theme.
Generations of immigrant Catholics have venerated the traditions of their homelands in chapels all over the basilica. The Chapel
of Our Lady of Guadalupe, a gift in part from the people of Boston,
celebrates a shrine outside Mexico City, recalling an apparition of Mary in
the 1500s. Polish Americans donated the Chapel of Our Lady of Czestochowa;
tapestries, medallions and a mosaic screen refer to that country's early
Catholic history, including the proclamation of Mary as Queen of Poland in
1656.
Those most familiar with Catholic doctrine will find its tenets
decorating every crevice and cranny of the church; for others, a
volunteer-led tour is a must to appreciate the symbolism contained in each image. But
what comes through to visitors of every faith is the persistent
reverence for a 2,000-year-old tradition and the mother behind it.
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