Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis

The “New Cathedral” of St. Louis, on Lindell Boulevard, was begun in 1907 and first used in 1914. Its sober granite exterior, in the Romanesque style, gives no hint of what lies inside. Beginning in 1912, and continuing for three quarters of a century until 1988, artists covered its domes, walls and arches with mosaics. There are some 41 million pieces of glass in thousands of colours, covering more than 7,700 square metres. It is one of the largest collections of mosaics in the world.

The mosaics tell stories from Scripture and from the history of the Church in America, including the life of Saint Louis IX of France, for whom the city is named. There are the missionaries who explored the Mississippi, Saint Rose Philippine Duchesne, who founded schools in the region, and the building of the cathedral itself. A museum in the lower level explains how they were made.

Pope Saint John Paul II made the cathedral a basilica in 1997 and visited it in 1999, on his last journey to the United States.

Built

1907–1914 (mosaics 1912–1988)

Style

Romanesque Revival exterior; Byzantine interior

Where

St. Louis, Missouri, United States

Map

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