Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul

Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul

The cathedral was dedicated on November 20, 1864 by James Frederick Wood, the first Archbishop of Philadelphia. It is modeled after the Lombard Church of St. Charles (San Carlo al Corso) in Rome and is of the Roman-Corinthian style of architecture.

Because the cathedral was built during a time of persecution and discrimination toward Catholics, there are no original side windows on the building. During those times, the windows would have likely been broken by vandals. Natural light is admitted through the clerestory windows close to the ceiling. These are of lightly tinted glass and carry simple religious symbols as their most prominent decoration.

A cathedral church is the principal church of a diocese, because it is here that the bishop or ordinary of the diocese has his throne, or Cathedra.

On September 27, 1976, Pope Paul VI named the Cathedral a Basilica. This honor was given to the church for hosting the 41st International Eucharistic Congress.

Location

18th and Race Streets
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
USA

Getting There

There are several public transportation options to get there, including:

Bus: The 2, 4, 16, and 27 bus routes all stop within a few blocks of the cathedral.

Subway: The Cathedral is located a few blocks from the City Hall Station on the Broad Street Line and the Race-Vine Station on the Market-Frankford Line.

Regional Rail: The Cathedral is located about a mile from both Suburban Station and 30th Street Station, which are major transportation hubs for regional rail lines.

Nearby Airports

This is a list of primary airports in Pennsylvania that have scheduled passenger service on commercial airlines.