About the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark, New Jersey:
Construction of the Basilica began in 1871, and after years of planning and construction, the Cathedral was finally dedicated on October 19, 1954 by Thomas Aloysius Boland, Archbishop of Newark.
We can easily run out of superlatives when describing the Cathedral: it is one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture in the Western Hemisphere. In size, its’ towers are higher than those of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris and it is longer and taller than St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City.
The magnificent stained glass windows by the Zettler Studio are comparable to those in the Chartres Cathedral in Chartres, France. The 36-foot rose window over the primary entrance is the largest such window in the Catholic Church in the Western Hemisphere.
The Pipe Organ: The Cathedral is home to the largest pipe organ ever built by the Schantz Organ Company and is also the largest church organs in New Jersey. It includes 154 stops playable from two consoles. When installed in 1953, the organ held 144 stops; it was expanded and renovated in 1989.
They have a free concert series at the cathedral basilica that is open to the public. See the website link below for details.
Performances of religious music at the cathedral basilica also include the New Jersey Symphony’s annual Advent season performance of Handel’s Messiah.
The Ambulatory Chapels:
The cathedral basilica has five ambulatory chapels honoring saints that represent different ethnic Catholic groups who live in the Newark area and helped build the cathedral: St. Patrick (British Isles); St. Lucy Filippini (Italian, Portuguese); St. Boniface (German speaking); St. Stanislaus of Kraków (Polish-Slovak-Hungarian); St. Anne (Hispanic, African, and Asian).
Behind the main altar is the Lady Chapel. Dedicated to Our Lady of grace, it has an altar crafted from Carrara marble and three brilliant chandeliers of hand-cut crystal.
During Pope John Paul II’s visit to the United States in 1995, he celebrated evening prayer at the cathedral. At this occasion, the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart was elevated to a minor basilica to become the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart.
Traveling to the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark, New Jersey:
Address: 89 Ridge Street, Newark, New Jersey 07104
Tel: +1 (973) 484-4600
Email: cathedralinfo@rcan.org