About Basilica of the Assumption · Baltimore, Maryland
The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary — known popularly as the Baltimore Basilica and nicknamed 'America's First Cathedral' — is the first Roman Catholic cathedral built in the United States, designed by Benjamin Henry Latrobe (architect of the U.S. Capitol) and constructed between 1806 and 1821. It functions today as a co-cathedral of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, a parish church (recently merged with Corpus Christi in Bolton Hill), a Minor Basilica (since 1937), and a National Shrine (since 1993). Located at Cathedral and Mulberry Streets in downtown Baltimore, it houses the crypts of nine deceased Archbishops of Baltimore and is the spiritual home of the Source of All Hope missionary outreach to the homeless, a professional schola cantorum, and perpetual eucharistic adoration in the Pope Saint John Paul II Adoration Chapel.
- Established
- 1806
- Patron
- Blessed Virgin Mary (under her title of the Assumption)
- Rector
- Rev. Brendan Fitzgerald, Rector (effective July 1, 2022)
- Diocese
- Metropolitan Archdiocese of Baltimore
Why belong here
The Baltimore Basilica is the spiritual mother church of American Catholicism — the place where the hierarchy, councils, and catechisms of U.S. Catholicism were born — and yet it remains an accessible, downtown parish with daily Mass, perpetual eucharistic adoration in the Pope Saint John Paul II Adoration Chapel, a professional schola cantorum, and a uniquely bold urban outreach through Source of All Hope, in which young adult missionaries walk the streets of Baltimore serving the homeless, addicted, and lonely. Its recently merged parish reaches both lifelong Catholics and the young-adult and graduate-student population of downtown's colleges through a Sunday evening Mass at Corpus Christi, plus parish RCIA, marriage preparation, and a planned children's choir school — all under the prayerful patronage of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Mass times at Basilica of the Assumption
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Sunday: 9:30 AM – 10:30 AM (Basilica)
- Sunday: 5:00 PM – 5:25 PM (Basilica Oratory at Corpus Christi, 110 W. Lafayette Ave)
- Monday: 7:00 AM – 7:15 AM and 11:30 AM – 12:00 PM
- Tuesday: 7:00 AM – 7:15 AM and 11:30 AM – 12:00 PM
- Wednesday: 7:00 AM – 7:15 AM and 11:30 AM – 12:00 PM
- Thursday: 7:00 AM – 7:15 AM and 11:30 AM – 12:00 PM
- Friday: 7:00 AM – 7:15 AM and 11:30 AM – 12:00 PM
- Saturday (First Saturdays only): 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM
Adoration times
- Perpetual Adoration, 24 hours / 7 days a week in the Pope Saint John Paul II Adoration Chapel in the Undercroft (sign up at adorationpro.org/baltimorebasilica)
About the Baltimore Basilica
The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is the mother church of Roman Catholicism in the United States — the first Catholic cathedral built in the new republic, the stage for the councils that shaped American Catholic life, and the spiritual home of nine deceased Archbishops of Baltimore. Today it functions simultaneously as a co-cathedral of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, a Minor Basilica, a National Shrine, and an active downtown parish recently merged with Corpus Christi in Bolton Hill. Its mission, in the words of the parish staff page, is 'to form joyful missionary disciples of Jesus Christ to transform hearts under the prayerful guidance of the Blessed Virgin Mary.'
- Co-Cathedral of the Archdiocese of Baltimore
- Minor Basilica since July 14, 1937
- National Shrine since November 4, 2006
- Parish church merged with Corpus Christi
History: 'America's First Cathedral'
When Pope Pius VI erected the Diocese of Baltimore in 1789, he named the Jesuit John Carroll its first bishop — and Carroll, elevated to Archbishop in 1808, immediately set out to build a cathedral worthy of the new American church. The cornerstone was blessed in 1806 on land acquired from Colonel John Eager Howard. Carroll entrusted the design to Benjamin Henry Latrobe, Jefferson's Architect of the Capitol and now regarded as the father of American architecture. The cathedral was blessed and opened on May 31, 1821 by Archbishop Ambrose Maréchal; the hexastyle Ionic portico was added by Latrobe's son John H.B. Latrobe and builder Joseph F. Faxon in 1863. The cathedral was consecrated on May 25, 1876 by Archbishop James Roosevelt Bayley and elevated to a Minor Basilica by Pope Pius XI on July 14, 1937. In 1959 it became a co-cathedral when the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen opened in north Baltimore.
- 1789: Diocese of Baltimore erected; John Carroll named first bishop
- 1806: Cornerstone laid by Bishop Carroll on land from Col. John Eager Howard
- 1806–1821: Construction to designs of Benjamin Henry Latrobe
- 1821 May 31: Blessed and opened by Archbishop Ambrose Maréchal
- 1831–1837: Twin onion-domed towers added
- 1863: Hexastyle Ionic portico added by John H.B. Latrobe and Joseph F. Faxon
- 1876 May 25: Consecrated by Archbishop James Roosevelt Bayley
- 1937 July 14: Elevated to Minor Basilica by Pope Pius XI
- 1959: Becomes co-cathedral; new Cathedral of Mary Our Queen opens
- 2006 Nov 4: Re-dedicated as National Shrine after $34 million restoration
Architecture of Latrobe's Masterpiece
Latrobe designed the Basilica on a Latin-cross plan in the neoclassical / Classical Revival idiom — a deliberate departure from earlier American church architecture but a direct echo of European cathedral tradition. Its defining feature is a double dome, the inner skin pierced by twenty-four skylights that pour diffuse light into the nave, an idea Latrobe developed in conversation with Thomas Jefferson's contemporaneous University of Virginia Rotunda. The exterior is clad in silver-gray gneiss quarried from the Ellicott City Granodiorite, the walls are brick beneath ashlar granite, and the dome is wood sheathed in copper and topped by a regilded gold-leaf cross. The 87-foot-high dome was hidden beneath stained glass and 'battleship gray' paint for most of the twentieth century until the 2004–2006 restoration, led by John G. Waite Associates, recreated Latrobe's pale neutral scheme and uncovered long-lost frescoes of the four Gospel Evangelists.
- Architect: Benjamin Henry Latrobe (with portico by John H.B. Latrobe and Joseph F. Faxon)
- Style: Neoclassical / Classical Revival, Latin-cross plan
- Exterior: brick clad in silver-gray gneiss from Ellicott City
- Double dome with 24 hidden skylights, copper-sheathed
- Hexastyle Ionic portico (1863) and twin onion-domed towers (1831–1837)
- Greek-Revival gateposts and iron fence by Robert Cary Long (1841)
- Restoration architects: John G. Waite Associates (2004–2006)
- Painters / muralists: EverGreene Painting Studios, New York
The Crypt: Most Historic Catholic Crypt in the U.S.
Beneath the main altar — accessible by new staircases added during the 2006 restoration — lies a crypt containing the tombs of nine deceased Archbishops of Baltimore, making it arguably the most historic Catholic crypt in the United States. The bodies of John Carroll, America's first bishop; Cardinal James Gibbons; Cardinal William Keeler; and Archbishops Ambrose Maréchal, James Whitfield, Samuel Eccleston, Francis Patrick Kenrick, Martin John Spalding, and Michael Curley all rest here. The crypt opens onto the Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Chapel and a museum interpreting the Basilica's two centuries of history.
- John Carroll, S.J. (1789–1815) — first bishop
- Ambrose Maréchal, S.S. (1817–1828)
- James Whitfield (1828–1834)
- Samuel Eccleston, P.S.S. (1834–1851)
- Francis Patrick Kenrick (1851–1863)
- Martin John Spalding (1864–1872)
- James Cardinal Gibbons (1877–1921)
- Michael Joseph Curley (1921–1947)
- William Cardinal Keeler (1983–2007)
Councils and Councils of the Church
Three Plenary Councils of Baltimore and seven Provincial Councils have been held within the Basilica's walls — gatherings that defined the structure, schools, and devotional life of American Catholicism. The Third Plenary Council (1884), presided over by Cardinal Gibbons, was the largest assembly of Catholic bishops outside Rome since the Council of Trent. It commissioned the famous Baltimore Catechism and led directly to the founding of The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.
- Three Plenary Councils of Baltimore (1852, 1866, 1884)
- Seven Provincial Councils of Baltimore
- Third Plenary Council of 1884 commissioned the Baltimore Catechism
- Inspired the founding of The Catholic University of America
- Approximately thirty bishops consecrated at the high altar
Source of All Hope: Street Missionaries to the Poor
Founded on the Basilica's patronal feast day (August 15) by then-rector Father James Boric, Source of All Hope is a Catholic missionary community of young men and women who give a year of their lives to walking Baltimore's streets, building friendships with the homeless, addicted, and spiritually poor, and inviting them to Mass and prayer. Modeled on the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS), the community lives a structured life of Morning Prayer, daily Mass, Holy Hour, Rosary, Night Prayer, and street ministry, often partnering with the Sisters Poor of Jesus Christ and the Basilica's Saturday meal ministry. More than 50 missionaries have served since the program's founding; the Basilica is raising $1 million for Source of All Hope as part of its $10 million 'A Legacy of Light, A Living Inheritance' campaign, complemented by a $2 million gift from the Sulpicians of St. Mary's Seminary.
- Missionary Campus Life Director: Emma Zanotelli
- Director of Outreach: Abigail Steele
- Saturday meal ministry
- Friday street ministry with college students
- RCIA sponsorship
- $10 million 'A Legacy of Light, A Living Inheritance' campaign
Music, Liturgy, and the Schola Cantorum
The Basilica is reclaiming its nineteenth-century heritage as a center of Catholic sacred music under Director of Music Samuel Rowe, a graduate of The Catholic University of America's master's program in choral conducting. A professional schola cantorum of four choristers sings mostly in Latin at the principal Sunday Mass, with plans to add men's and women's ensembles and to launch a children's choir school that will train young people in chant, polyphony, and hymnody. The rector has also introduced an improved sound system and livestreaming capabilities to bring the Basilica's liturgies to an international audience, and Sunday evening Vespers with Archbishop Lori have been added to the schedule.
- Director of Music: Samuel Rowe
- Professional schola cantorum of four choristers (Latin chant and polyphony)
- Planned children's choir school
- Sunday evening Vespers with Archbishop William E. Lori
- Livestreamed liturgies
Parish Staff
The parish staff combines liturgical, operational, communications, music, and outreach roles and includes both the Archbishop and the Rector.
- Most Rev. William E. Lori, S.T.D. — Archbishop of Baltimore
- Rev. Brendan Fitzgerald — Rector
- Deacon Robert Shepard
- Deacon Sean Keller
- Deacon Jose Rivera (also Operations Manager)
- Maria Veres — Director of Parish Operations
- Kate McClafferty — Office Manager and Sacramental Coordinator
- Mark Marozza — Sacristan
- Ana Farias — Communications Manager (410-547-3155)
- Samuel Rowe — Director of Music
- Emma Zanotelli — Missionary Campus Life Director, Source of All Hope
- Abigail Steele — Director of Outreach, Source of All Hope
The Basilica of the Assumption Historic Trust
The Basilica of the Assumption Historic Trust, Inc. is a nonprofit corporation whose purpose is 'to maintain, preserve, protect, repair and restore the structure and site of the Basilica, together with its grounds and ancillary buildings to ensure that their historic and landmark character shall be preserved in trust for the enrichment of future generations of Baltimoreans.' The Trust led the $34 million 2006 restoration and continues to oversee preservation of the Latrobe masterpiece, the adjoining Archbishop's Residence, the Sexton's House (409 Cathedral Street), and the iron fence and Greek-Revival gateposts.
- President: Stephanie Clancy
- Address: 409 Cathedral Street, Baltimore, MD 21201
- Phone: (410) 727-3565
- Website: americasfirstcathedral.org
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. James Boricpre-2022 to June 2022
Previous rector under whose leadership the bicentennial (200th anniversary) was celebrated in 2006, perpetual eucharistic adoration was launched, and the Source of All Hope missionary program was founded.
- Rev. Brendan FitzgeraldJuly 1, 2022 – present
Appointed Rector by Archbishop William Lori, effective July 1, 2022; previously Associate Pastor of Sacred Heart Parish, Glyndon.
