One of the most pleasant surprises of our 3 day stay in Milwaukee was a visit to this beautiful cathedral. St. Josaphat Basilica is Franciscan and is situated in the south side of the city in the old Polish immigrant neighborhood.
There was a large influx of Polish people into Milwaukee after the Civil War, who brought with them a strong ethnic identify and loyalty to Catholicism. The parish was founded in 1888 and the need for a church to handle the religious requirements of this growing population became evident. The current church is not the first, having replaced smaller structures. It was planned in the late 19th century and was intended to resemble a small version of St. Peter’s Basilica (Rome), and to hold 2400 worshippers. The church is named after Saint Josaphat, a 17th century saint from Poland who was beaten to death.
Here the story gets a little more interesting. At the time it was to be constructed, Chicago’s US Post Office and Customs House was being torn down. The church purchased all of the usable materials from the demolition for the bargain price of $20,000, including all the bricks, fixtures, even the doorknobs. These were shipped north by train to Milwaukee on 500 flatcars. Ground was broken in 1896 and the church was built largely by volunteer Polish labor. It was dedicated in 1901.
The parish hired a Roman artist, Gonippo Raggi, in 1926 who spent two years working on the interior. He crafted the murals, finished the ornamental plasterwork, and painted the columns to resemble marble. There is actually very little real marble in the structure.
Pope Pius XI elevated the church to Basilica status in 1929.
The church has had to deal with damages and age-related changes. Most notably a 1940 fire caused smoke damage to the Basilica’s murals. A severe summer storm in 1984 ripped away part of the dome’s copper roof. Funds were raised to repair the cathedral and are being still raised to maintain this local gem. The Basilica was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. In 1998 a new pavilion and visitors’ center opened and named in honor of Polish-born Pope, John Paul II
The photo below was used as last weekend’s One Clue Mystery. It was recognized by George G — congratulations as always, George!
Your visit will begin at the Visitor’s Center gift shop, where you obtain an informative audio guide. The guide walks you through the church, including the Visitor Center and cathedral, pointing our some of its many highlights.
We spent about an hour and a half exploring the cathedral with our audio guide, taking in the spacious church and its beautiful details.
Stained glass windows were made in Austria….
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If you Visit:
St. Josaphat Basilica is located on the corner of Lincoln Avenue and 6th Street on Milwaukee’s historically Polish south side. You enter through the Pope John Paul II Pavilion on the west side of the Basilica, where you buy your walking tour or audiotour guides (I recommend the audiotour). The visitor center and church are handicap accessible.
Hourse are:
Monday through Friday 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Saturday 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Sunday 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
There is also a free exhibit of John Paul memorabilia and images and information detailing the story of the Basilica on the lower level of the Pavilion.
The visitor center and church are handicap accessible.
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What a beautiful basilica. Your photos are excellent!
Thanks, Marilyn! It was a surprise to us at how lovely the interior was. Perhaps the most European of all Basilicas in the USA (at least of the ones I’ve visited)