A cathedral is the official church of a diocesan bishop or Archbishop.

It is in this church that the bishop presides, teaches, and conducts worship for the Christian community of the local church or diocese.

The cathedral is the chief church of the diocese. All the official liturgical functions of a diocese are celebrated at the Cathedral.

The cathedral is the church where the “cathedra” –the chair or throne of the bishop is found. This seat is a symbol of the apostolic authority of the bishop.

St. Mary’s Cathedral, Miami, Fl

The word basilica means royal house.

The word basilica is a honorific title given to a church with important canonical status and privileges, usually due to its history.

One of the privileges bestowed upon major Basilicas is the celebration of the Jubilee Year and the granting of plenary indulgences to the pilgrims that come to visit them.

There are two types of basilicas: Major basilicas and minor basilicas.

St. Peter’s Basilica

Patriarchal basilicas are churches associated with the great patriarchates of the world. The four patriarchal basilicas are:

St. John Lateran is the cathedral of the Pope and therefore associated with him as Bishop of Rome and as Patriarch of the West

St. Peter's Basilica, the Patriarch of Constantinople

St. Paul’s Basilica, the Patriarch of Alexandria

St. Mary Major, the Patriarch of Antioch

St. John Lateran

A patriarchate is the see of a patriarch—a high ranking bishop (usually Eastern Catholic) in charge of the bishops, clergy and people of several regions or countries.

The word patriarch means Father.

Major basilicas have a special "holy door" and a papal throne and an altar at which none may say Mass except by the pope's permission.

The four major Basilicas act as the Pope’s chapels.

The day of their consecration is remember as a feast day in the Latin Church.

The four Roman basilicas alone have the right to prefix their basilica name with the adjective "sacrosancta." (venerable or most holy).

St. Mary Major

Major Basilicas are also entitled to display and to use in liturgical processions two insignia: the basilican bell (tintinnabulum) and the basilican umbrella, or pavilion (conopceum, ombrellone, padiglione).

Originally, the basilican bell was probably used to signal the arrival of the pope at the basilica for solemn functions or the start of a papal procession. It consists of a small bell with a ringing-cord attached to its tongue, mounted in an ornamental frame on the top of a carrying-pole.

Fr. Rober F. McNamara

St. Paul’s Basilica “Outside the Walls”

“Legend claims that when St Paul was decapitated, his head bounced three times and fountains miraculously sprang out when it touched the ground.”

A minor basilica is an important church that is outside the rank of the four major basilicas.

It has some of the privileges granted to the major basilicas.

National Shrine of the Immaculate ConceptionWashington, DC

The three privileges granted to minor basilicas are:

A. the use of the basilican bell

B. the use of the basilican pavilion.

C. the right of the secular canons of the basilica to wear a cappa of purple wool and ermine.

National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception

Only Popes can declare a church a minor basilica upon the recommendation of the congregation for sacred rites.

A. The church in question is ancient, at least in a relative sense.

B. The architecture must at least be truly "basilica," that is, "regal" in character.

C. It must be a permanent church, and solemnly consecrated.

D. It must be large, spacious, and rich in its appointments.

E. From a devotional standpoint, it must be in some way or other a notable religious center. If it is a shrine by reason of its possession of the body of a saint, so much the better.

F. If it is not distinguished for its relics, it should at least be distinguished for its paintings, images, etc.

G. The staff of the church should be large enough to permit the frequent and splendid performance of solemn rites.

H. It should be self-supporting.

Cathedral-Basilica, St. Augustine, Fl

Ste. Anne de Beaupré in Québec.

Sacré Coeur in Montmartre, Paris.

National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C.

Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico city.

Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe

The Basilica of our Lady of Guadalupe is considered as the second most important sanctuary of Catholicism (this based upon the number of pilgrims it hosts per year) just after the Vatican City.

Oratory signifies a place of prayer. The word oratory comes from the Latin word for prayer.

It also means a structure other than a parish church, set aside by ecclesiastical authority for prayer and the celebration of Mass.

Oratories seem to have originated from the chapels erected over the tombs of the early martyrs where the faithful resorted to pray.

In the modern sense, an oratory is a place other than a parish church where it is canonically permissible to celebrate the Liturgy.

Monasteries Prisons Hospitals Private Homes

Public– open to all

Semi-Public– restricted to the use of a religious community, seminary hospital or prison.

Private—only granted by permission of the Holy See.

A chapel is a holy place or area of worship, sometimes small and attached to a larger institution such as a large church, a college, a hospital, a palace, a prison or a cemetery, sometimes large and unattached to another building.

Canonically speaking the chapel is an oratory.

The word chapel means cape.

Technically, anyone can set up a chapel.

The bishop’s permission is necessary to celebrate the mass inside any chapel or oratory.

Side Chapels - a chapel within a cathedral or larger church.

Lady Chapels - these are really a form of side chapel, but have been included separately as they are extremely prevalent in the Catholic church. They are dedicated to the veneration of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Ambassador's Chapels - originally created to allow

ambassadors from Catholic countries to worship whilst on duty in Protestant countries.

Bishop's Chapels - in Catholic Canon Law, Bishops

have the right to have a chapel in their own home, even when traveling (such personal chapels are granted only as a favor to other priests)

Chapels of Ease - constructed in large parishes to allow parishioners easy access to a church or chapel.

Summer chapels - A small church in a resort area that functions only during the summer when vacationers are present.

Wayside chapels - Small chapels in the countryside

And may the Lord bless you and keep you.

May the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious

unto you.And may God grant unto you His

peaceIn your going out and in your

coming in,In your lying down and in your

rising up,In your labor and in your leisure,

In your laughter and in your tears,Until you come to stand before

JesusIn that day in which there is no

sunset and no dawning.Amen.For more presentations please visit:

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