Church Architecture

Basilica of the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart
Architect: H.B. Lowe
1866 Architecture

The Basilica of the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart is a cathedral church and a minor basilica located in Charleston, West Virginia, United States. Sacred Heart parish was established on August 1, 1866, when property was purchased. the church stares as a 2-story brick building before money was raised and H.B. Lowe was selected as architect for the new church. A new building was built, then expanded and improved during the early 1900s.

Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Architect: Benjamin Henry Latrobe
1806-63 Architecture

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The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, also called the Baltimore Basilica, is a Catholic cathedral in Baltimore, Maryland. It was the first Catholic cathedral built in the United States after the nation's founding, and was among the first major religious buildings constructed therein after the adoption of the U.S. Constitution.

As a co-cathedral, it is one of the seats of the Catholic Archdiocese in Baltimore, Maryland. Additionally it is a parish church (ranked minor basilica) and national shrine. It is considered the masterpiece of Benjamin Henry Latrobe, the "Father of American Architecture". Latrobe was America's first professionally trained architect and Thomas Jefferson's Architect of the U.S. Capitol.

Many famous events have occurred within its walls, including the funeral Mass of Charles Carroll of Carrollton, the only Catholic signatory of the Declaration of Independence. Carroll had been the last of the surviving signers. Most of the first American bishops were consecrated here to fill the ever-multiplying dioceses necessitated by the young country's territorial expansion and the great growth of the American Catholic population. Until recent years, more priests were ordained at the Baltimore Basilica than in any other church in the United States.

Basilica of the National Vow
Architect: Emilio Tarlier
1892 - still unfinished Architecture

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This Roman Catholic church is located in the historic center of Quito, Ecuador, and is the largest Neo-Gothic basilica on the continent. With gorgeous, intricate details both inside and out, the basilica is technically unfinished. The basilica arose from the idea, proposed by Father Julio Matovelle in 1883, of building a monument as a perpetual reminder of the consecration of Ecuador to the Sacred Heart.

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When we think of Christian architecture, we may picture towering cathedrals with intricate stained-glass windows, but the roots of this style are much more humble. The earliest Christian structures were not grand, but rather simple house churches. As Christianity grew, its places of worship grew in size and intricacy.

The transition from early Christian to medieval architecture paralelled societal and religious changes. The Romanesque style, characterized by its rounded arches and massive walls, was followed by the Gothic style with its pointed archs, ribbed vaults, and flying buttresses.

Christian architecture has created some of the world’s most iconic structures. These buildings all share a common thread: they are physical manifestations of the Christian faith.

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