About Saint Anthony Cathedral Basilica in Beaumont, Texas:
St. Anthony Cathedral Basilica’s roots go back to 1853 when the Catholic Church sent priests on horseback to minister to the settlers around the port of Beaumont. In 1907 Bishop Gallagher dedicated the new brick church.
With the inception of the Diocese of Beaumont in 1966, St. Anthony Church was elevated to the rank of a cathedral by Pope Paul VI and Bishop Vincent Harris was installed as the first Bishop of Beaumont.
The church building has undergone many changes through the leadership of several bishops and pastors. On July 11, 2006, Pope Benedict XVI recognized the historical significance of Saint Anthony Cathedral by proclaiming it a minor basilica.[1] Following a year-long diocesan jubilee year celebrating the centenary of Saint Anthony Cathedral, the papal decree, papal ombrellino (basilica umbrella) and papal tintinnabulum (basilica bell) were solemnly installed on October 21, 2007.
Saint Anthony Cathedral Basilica’s papal ombrellino (basilica umbrella) was blessed by Pope Benedict XVI on May 23, 2007. This half-opened umbrella is constructed of red and gold Belgium silk damask. The heraldic shields of the Holy See; Pope Benedict XVI; Bishop Curtis J. Guillory, S.V.D.; the Diocese of Beaumont; and the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Anthony are embroidered on the papal ombrellino’s flaps. Referred to by a wide variety of names, such as ombrellino and basilica pavilion, umbrellas (fully opened) were once used during papal processions through the streets of Rome to protect the pope from the weather. Today, the ombrellino is used as a symbol of a minor basilica’s distinct bond to the papacy. The ombrellino stand half-opened in minor basilicas throughout the world as a way of symbolically anticipating the arrival of the pope at a basilica, his “home away from home.”
The cathedral basilica’s papal tintinnabulum (basilica bell) was also blessed by Pope Benedict XVI on June 28, 2006, and was blessed a second time by the pontiff on May 23, 2007. This elaborate bell, cast in Padua, Italy, is housed within a beautiful hand-carved gold gilded wooden Italian stanchion (post) that is decorated with the papal keys and tridendum (papal crown), common symbols of the pope and his pastoral ministry. Also decorating this bell stanchion are three lilies that symbolize St. Anthony’s purity, the Gospel book and flame symbolizing the eloquent preaching of St. Anthony, and four wheat stalks symbolizing the charity of St. Anthony, who fed the poor. The papal bell was once used during papal processions in Rome and today is used as a symbol of a minor basilica’s definite union with the pope.
The basilica holds a relic of Pope John Paul II, a zucchetto (a small, hemispherical, form-fitting ecclesiastical skullcap worn by Bishops and Cardinals) worn and signed by Pope John Paul II.
Click here for the official website of Saint Anthony Cathedral Basilica in Beaumont, Texas.
Traveling to Saint Anthony Cathedral Basilica in Beaumont, Texas:
Address: 700 Jefferson St. Beaumont, TX 7770
Tel: Parish Office: (409) 833-6433 Office Number: (409) 924-4300
Click here for the official website of Saint Anthony Cathedral Basilica in Beaumont, Texas.