The $32 million restoration of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a gift not only to the Baltimore Catholic Church and community but to the entire nation, Cardinal William H. Keeler of Baltimore said Oct. 30.

The cardinal, seated in a wheelchair as he recovered from a broken ankle, spoke about the importance of the basilica as the first Catholic cathedral in the United States and as a symbol of religious freedom in the fledgling nation at a media preview less than a week before the basilica was to reopen Nov. 4.

He said the reopening would fulfill "a long-held dream of sharing (the basilica) with the nation" as both a beautiful place to worship and as a reminder of a time, until the American Revolution, when Catholics were "persecuted as a devout minority."

When the cornerstone was laid for the new church in 1806, it represented "the rights of Catholics and other faiths to worship openly," Cardinal Keeler said. At that time, Bishop (later Archbishop) John Carroll of Baltimore was the only Catholic bishop for the entire country.

Designed by Benjamin Latrobe, architect of the U.S. Capitol, the basilica was renovated to restore many original architectural details and to incorporate modern electrical, heating and cooling, plumbing and security systems in a way that maintained the building's historical integrity.

"Over the course of the basilica's 200 years, it has borne witness time and again to many important milestones and visitors as the church developed and evolved in America," Cardinal Keeler said in a statement released at the preview.

Those visitors included Pope Pius XII (as a cardinal) and Pope John Paul II, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, U.S. President Andrew Johnson, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Alexis de Tocqueville, Marquis de Lafayette, the chiefs of the Sioux and Flathead tribes, St. John Neumann of Philadelphia, Blessed Teresa of Calcutta and Charles Carroll of Carrollton, the only Catholic signer of the Declaration of Independence and Bishop Carroll's cousin.

"Unfortunately, the ravages of time, inadequate maintenance and alterations took a toll," the cardinal said. "The original, brilliant design of Benjamin Henry Latrobe and Archbishop Carroll was lost, and major infrastructure improvements came to be needed."

The Basilica of the Assumption Historic Trust, established in 1976, has raised $25 million in private donations toward the estimated $32 million cost of the renovations.

In addition to updating the basilica's infrastructure, major changes to the basilica include replacement of 24 original skylights, illumination of the exterior at night, a new chapel in the undercroft as originally envisioned by Latrobe, re-creation of the original balconies, creation of a basilica museum and gift shop, and repainting of the walls in the original colors of pale yellow, blue and rose.

Ellington E. Churchill Jr., project manager for Henry H. Lewis Contractors, said the restoration work involved 30 months of construction, 900 cubic yards of concrete, 62,000 pounds of reinforcing steel, 20,000 square feet of metal roofing and the work of more 60 contractors representing more than 700 men and women.

"The basilica has been transformed, and we stand here today proud to have our names included as a small footnote in the history of this great place," Churchill said at an Oct. 3 ceremony marking the end of the construction phase.

The opening celebrations were to culminate in a Nov. 12 Mass concelebrated by all of the U.S. bishops, gathering in Baltimore for the fall general meeting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

---CNS