Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

History & Significance

Basilica · Est. Parish founded 1892; present church cornerstone laid 1907; designated a minor basilica in 1998

The Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is a Roman Catholic parish church and minor basilica in the Westside neighborhood of Syracuse, New York, at 927 Park Avenue. It originated in 1892 as Sacred Heart Parish, a national parish established to serve the area's large Polish immigrant community after they petitioned the Bishop of Syracuse; the first church was dedicated in 1893. As the congregation grew, parishioners helped build a larger Gothic Revival church whose cornerstone was laid in 1907. Pope John Paul II elevated the church to the status of minor basilica on August 27, 1998, and it was formally dedicated as a basilica on October 3, 1999.

Gothic Revival, cruciform stone church with marble veneer and twin spires roughly 212 feet high

• •Founded in 1892 as a national parish for Syracuse's Polish Catholic community
• •Designated a minor basilica by Pope John Paul II on August 27, 1998
• •Formally dedicated as a basilica on October 3, 1999
• •Cornerstone of the present church laid in 1907; designed by Syracuse architects Merrick and Randall
• •Located at 927 Park Avenue in the Westside neighborhood; part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse