In solemn rites during second Vespers for the Second Sunday of Advent, Archbishop Timothy Michael Dolan formally inaugurated the Archdiocese of New York's first minor basilica, Saint Patrick's Old Cathedral, a community of Catholic faith since 1809. A prior blog post notes the announcement.Other area churches distinguished with the title of "basilica" are: Saint James Cathedral and Our Lady of Perpetual Help in the Brooklyn Diocese, the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in the Newark Archdiocese, the Church of the Immaculate Conception (Waterbury, CT) in the Hartford Archdiocese and Saint John the Evangelist (Stamford, CT) in the Bridgeport Diocese.
Congrats to Archbishop Dolan and to Monsignor Donald Sakano, rector of the new basilica.
Here's the NY Times' article on the event.
CBS News did a spot...
