Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart -- by: Gaby Teixeira

The Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart (located at 89 Ridge Street in Newark, NJ) is the fifth largest cathedral in the United States and features impressive stained-glass windows produced by the famed Zettler glass artisans of Munich, Germany. 







The idea of a new Cathedral church in the city of Newark was first proposed by Bishop Bayley in 1859.  Bishop Bayley took the first formal steps in making his dream a reality when he purchased a plot of land on the corner of High and Kinney Streets on January 17, 1859. The actual transaction, for the sum of $60,000, was executed on January 2, 1871, when Bishop Bayley acquired a deed from owners Peter T. Doremus and Hiram M. Rhodes. The Cathedral project was passed on to his successor Michael Augustine Corrigan, who authorized excavation of the site under Mr. O'Rourke's direction in 1875 and 1876.

After many years of conflicts, design changes, and halts, finally, on October 19, 1954, the dream that had been envisioned by Bishop Bayley became a reality. Archbishop Boland dedicated Newark's mighty Cathedral in a ceremony in which he also received the pallium -- the symbol of archiepiscopal dignity -- from Archbishop Amleto Cicognani, Apostolic Delegate to the United States.  The Cathedral emerged as the center of faith and devotion for the people of the Archdiocese.

Newark's majestic Cathedral Church was designated an historic landmark by the New Jersey Historical Society in December 1974. Two years later, on December 22, 1976, national recognition was given the Cathedral through its designation as a National Historic Site.

For more information about the Cathedral, click on the link below:  http://www.cathedralbasilica.org/ 

I created a short video clip with the photographs I took when I visited the Cathedral.  The music is by the West Minster Choir singing "Sicut cervus desiderat."  Click here to listen to the entire song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nsw1kdLqfec

Below is a quick, informative video clip that I found about the Cathedral.  Click on the link below to view the video clip.

http://videos.nj.com/star-ledger/2009/04/the_cathedral_basilica_of_the.html


I chose to inlcude the following poem, Cathedrals by James Freeman, because it portrays the images and feelings I experienced when I visited the Cathedral.

There will be no more cathedrals built
as St. Vitus was in Prague
over six hundred years
The toil begun, cornerstones laid
by those who knew
a roof would not be achieved
in their lifetime
or those of grandsons

These were men looking beyond mortality
these planners
these craftsmen
of dreams
Mankind no longer spends a lifetime
on his knees
either to pray or to build
and there's sense in that

But I stand in the shadow of this cathedral
and watch the sunlight sifted
through a seive of stained glass
in stunned wonder
at the sheer beauty of that labor
No, they'll not be built again
as this one was
and that's all that can be said