The Basilica of Saint Mary in downtown Minneapolis is the first church in the United States to be designated a Basilica. The church is an outstanding example of French architecture and is the Co-Cathedral of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis.

The interior of the church boasts 675 angels! These angels appear in virtually every artistic medium: glass, marble, steel, bronze, plaster and wood. The exterior of the building is almost one football field long and its dome is 5/6 of a football field to the top. Other highlights include the recently restored Rose Window, the Coat of Arms especially designed for the Minneapolis Basilica by Rome and a carved "in-sito" crucifixion tableau modeled after a miraculous crucifix of Lympias, Spain.

The Basilica, which is the second permanent structure for the parish of the Immaculate Conception, was designed in 1906 by Emmanuel Masqueray. Masqueray, chief architect for the 1904 Saint Louis World's Fair and the Cathedral of Saint Paul, came to the Twin Cities at the request of Archbishop John Ireland. The first Mass was celebrated at the Basilica on May 31, 1914, at which time only the exterior shell was completed. The interior was completed in the late 1920's by the Boston firm of McGinnis and Walsh.

Besides being an architecturally and historically significant site, the Basilica of Saint Mary enjoys a thriving congregation of over 5,000 households -- 60% of which are young adults.