Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, Philadelphia

The Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, head church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia, is located at 18th Street & the Benjamin Franklin Parkway on the east side of Logan Square in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is the largest Catholic church in Pennsylvania and listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places as Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul. In 1979, the Cathedral was visited by Pope John Paul II, where he went on to celebrate Mass.

Architecture

With its majestic façade, vaulted dome, ornate main altar, eight side chapels and main sanctuary that comfortably holds 2,000 worshippers, the Cathedral-Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul is the largest brownstone structure and one of the most architecturally eminent structures in the city of Philadelphia. Erected in 1864, the cathedral, presented in a Roman-Corinthian style of architecture, is modeled after the Lombard Church of St. Charles in Rome. Its Palladian façade and aqua oxidized-copper dome are in the Italian Renaissance manner, and the interior is spacious with an oversize apse of stained glass and red antique marble in magnificent proportions reminiscent of Roman churches. It was largely decorated by Constantino Brumidi, who also painted the dome of the Capitol in Washington. A Baldichino over the main altar and the three altars on each of the side aisles point up this Italian Renaissance flavor. Also in the bowels of the building, is the compact 'Crypt of the...
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