History & Significance
Basilica · Est. Parish founded 1799; present basilica church built 1899-1901; raised to minor basilica 1996
The parish of St. Michael in Loretto, Pennsylvania, was founded in 1799 by the missionary priest Father Demetrius Augustine Gallitzin, a Russian-born prince who served the frontier Catholic community. The present Romanesque Revival stone church was built between 1899 and 1901, designed by architect Frederick J. Osterling and funded by steel magnate Charles M. Schwab, who grew up in Loretto. Father Gallitzin is entombed in a crypt beneath a bronze statue in front of the church. Pope John Paul II elevated the church to a minor basilica in 1996; it is a parish of the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown.
Romanesque Revival stone church (built 1899-1901)
- •Parish founded in 1799 by Father Demetrius Augustine Gallitzin, the 'Apostle of the Alleghenies'
- •Present stone church built 1899-1901, designed by Frederick J. Osterling and funded by Charles M. Schwab of U.S. Steel
- •Elevated to a minor basilica by Pope John Paul II in 1996
- •Parish church of the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown
- •Tomb and crypt of Father Gallitzin sit before the basilica beneath his statue
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