Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (Atlanta)

The Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is a

The church traces its origins to 1880, when the

In 1897, Bishop

In 1961, the exterior of the church was refaced.[30] Several years later, on September 5 1965, the church returned to the administration of the Archdiocese of Atlanta^{[note 3]} as the Marist Fathers refocused their efforts in the city on operating the Our Lady of the Assumption parish.^[32] After about a year of negotiations between the Marists and the archdiocese, this transfer was finalized on September 5 1966.^[32] On May 13 1976, the church was added to the National Register of Historic Places, a federal list of historic sites in the United States.^[1][33] Through the 1970s and 1980s, the area surrounding the church went through a period of decline, and there were concerns that the church might close.^[7] However, the church continued to operate, and it saw several renovation and construction projects during this time, including the completion of a new rectory in 1977 and an extensive interior renovation that commenced in 1978.^[33] During this renovation, the church was the target of an arson attack that damaged its basement, but the rest of the church was relatively unharmed, and the damages were repaired shortly thereafter.^[30] On April 10, 1990, the government of Atlanta declared the church a Landmark Building, a designation to promote historic preservation in the city.^[34] On June 12, 1995,^[35] Mother Teresa visited the church during a trip to Atlanta and took Mass while there.^[33] Several years later, the church celebrated its 100th anniversary with a Mass on May 3 1998.^[30]

Elevation to a minor basilica

By 2010, the church had seen a large growth in its congregation over the past several years and had a membership of about 1,300 families.^{[note 4]} That same year, the church received the designation of minor basilica from the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, giving the church certain privileges not held by regular churches.^[6] The idea for petitioning the organization for this status had been floated about ten years prior by the church's pastor, but no work was carried out for this goal until about 2007.^[7] The pastor then made a request to the archbishop of Atlanta, who approved it and forwarded it to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, who further forwarded it to the Catholic Church's administration in the Holy See.^[6] The title was granted on February 22,^[7] making it the 67th basilica in the United States and the first in both the archdiocese and the state.^[6] Today, the building is one of the few remaining structures in the area that was built around the turn of the 20th century,^[30] and the parish is one of the oldest operating in the archdiocese.^[7]

Architecture and design

The church is located at 353 Peachtree Street NE,

The nave of the building consists of high arches leading to the sanctuary, which features a baldachin displaying a crucifix in life-size.^[38] The baldachin covers the church tabernacle.^[38] Above the tabernacle, in the apse, is a depiction of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.^[38] On the arch separating the nave from the sanctuary are five symbols.^[38] At the top of the arch is Jesus depicted as the Lamb of God, while other symbols represent the Four Evangelists: a lion (Mark the Evangelist), an eagle (John the Evangelist), a bull (Luke the Evangelist), and a man (Matthew the Apostle).^[38] Closer to ground-level, the arch depicts the seal of the Society of Mary and the seal for the Archdiocese.^[38] 28 stained glass windows line the nave, all designed by the Mayer Studios in Munich,^[7] and it is topped by a gable roof.^[15]

Marist College

In 1901, Pastor Gunn purchased land adjacent to the church to serve as the location for a boys'

References

1. ^ ^{a b} National Park Service 1994, p. 152.
2. ^ ^{a b} Garrett 1969, p. 347.
3. ^ ^{a b c d} Hanley 2006, p. 89.
4. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j} O'Hara 1914, p. 210.
5. ^ ^{a b c} Hanley 2006, pp. 27, 89.
6. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h} Poole 2010.
7. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n} Keiser 2010.
8. ^ ^{a b} Mitchell 1927, p. 33.
9. ^ ^{a b c d e} Kunkle 1989, p. 40.
10. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} Garrett 1969, p. 348.
11. ^ Harrison 1944, p. 204.
12. ^ ^{a b} Reed 1927, p. 10.
13. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h} Hanley 2006, p. 27.
14. ^ ^{a b c d} Hanley 2006, pp. 27, 30.
15. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h} Greenberg & Marusin 1976, p. 115.
16. ^ ^{a b c d e f} Hanley 2006, p. 30.
17. ^ Hanley 2006, pp. 27, 30, 89.
18. ^ Namorato 1998, p. 30.
19. ^ Reed 1927, pp. 10, 46.
20. ^ ^{a b} Harrison 1944, p. 210.
21. ^ Mitchell 1950, p. 14.
22. ^ Hanley 2006, p. 32.
23. ^ Namorato 1998, p. 31.
24. ^ Hornsby 2004, p. 111.
25. ^ ^{a b} Hanley 2006, pp. 30, 89.
26. ^ Knight 1917, pp. 2498–2499.
27. ^ ^{a b} Craig 2012, p. 183.
28. ^ ^{a b} Maloney 1992, p. 376.
29. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i} Hanley 2006, p. 31.
30. ^ ^{a b c d e} Hanley 2006, p. 35.
31. ^ Moore 2007, p. 168.
32. ^ ^{a b} Hanley 2006, p. 34.
33. ^ ^{a b c} Hanley 2006, pp. 35, 89.
34. ^ Government of Atlanta.
35. ^ Hanley 2006, p. 53.
36. ^ Wirth 2015.
37. ^ Jackson 1927, pp. 55–56.
38. ^ ^{a b c d e f} Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta.
39. ^ ^{a b} Knight 1917, p. 2499.
40. ^ Garrett 1969, p. 412.

Sources

• Craig, Robert M. (2012). The Architecture of Francis Palmer Smith, Atlanta's Scholar-Architect. Athens, Georgia:
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• "Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus". Government of Atlanta. Archived from the original on October 28, 2020. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
• Greenberg, Ronald M.; Marusin, Sarah A., eds. (1976). The National Register of Historic Places. Vol. II. Washington, D.C.: United States Department of the Interior.
• Hanley, John (2006). The Archdiocese of Atlanta: A History. Strasbourg: Éditions du Signe.
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• Harrison, John M. (October 1944). "The Irish Influence in Early Atlanta".
  Atlanta Historical Society
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• Hornsby, Alton Jr. (2004). Southerners, Too? Essays on the Black South, 1733–1990. Lanham, Maryland:
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• Jackson, Marion (February 1927). "The Churches of Atlanta". The City Builder.
  Atlanta Chamber of Commerce
  : 6–8, 50–56.
• Keiser, Gretchen (March 4, 2010). "Vatican Names Atlanta's Sacred Heart as Basilica".
  Georgia Bulletin. Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta. Archived
  from the original on October 1, 2022. Retrieved October 1, 2022.
• Knight, Lucian Lamar (1917). A Standard History of Georgia and Georgians. Vol. V. Chicago:
  Lewis Publishing Company
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• Kunkle, Camille (Spring 1989). "Atlanta's Churches in 1896".
  Atlanta Historical Society
  : 35–48.
• Maloney, Walter H. (1992). Our Catholic Roots: Old Churches East of the Mississippi. Drawings by Thomas P. Maloney. Huntington, Indiana:
  ISBN 978-0-87973-463-3
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• Mitchell, Stephens (September 1927). "A Short History of the Parish of the Immaculate Conception".
  Atlanta Historical Society
  : 28–46.
• Mitchell, Stephens (May 1950). "Margaret Mitchell and Her People in the Atlanta Area".
  Atlanta Historical Society
  : 5–28.
• Moore, Andrew S. (2007). The South's Tolerable Alien: Roman Catholics in Alabama and Georgia, 1945–1970. Baton Rouge, Louisiana:
  ISBN 978-0-8071-3573-0
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• Namorato, Michael V. (1998). The Catholic Church in Mississippi, 1911–1984: A History. Westport, Connecticut:
  ISBN 978-0-313-30719-5
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• National Register of Historic Places, 1966 to 1994: Cumulative List Through January 1, 1994. Washington, D.C.:
  ISBN 978-0-89133-254-1
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• O'Hara, Arthur J. (1914). "The Diocese of Savannah". In Lafort, Remigius; Farley, John (eds.). The Catholic Church in the United States of America. Vol. III. New York City: The Catholic Editing Company. pp. 194–214.
• Poole, Shelia M. (March 5, 2010). "Sacred Heart receives basilica designation".
  ISSN 1539-7459. Archived
  from the original on October 1, 2022. Retrieved October 1, 2022.
• Reed, Richard (February 1927). "Roman Catholics in Atlanta". The City Builder.
  Atlanta Chamber of Commerce
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• "Sacred Heart of Jesus Basilica". Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta. Archived from the original on December 18, 2022. Retrieved June 11, 2023.
• Wirth, Michelle (April 28, 2015). "Atlanta's Spring Street Could Be Renamed Ted Turner Drive". WABE. Archived from the original on October 2, 2022. Retrieved October 2, 2022.

Further reading

• Jolissaint, Van E. (Fall–Winter 1972). "European Priests in Atlanta—1914–1939".
  Atlanta Historical Society
  : 53–58.
• Moore, Andrew S. (2018). "Black and Catholic in Atlanta: Challenge and Hope". In Cummings, Kathleen Sprows; Matovina, Timothy;
  ISBN 978-1-107-14116-2
  .

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Category:Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (Atlanta, Georgia).

• Official website