Hello and welcome to American Catholic History.

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I'm Noelle Heister Crow.

And I'm Tom Crow.

Today we're talking about the first cathedral built in the United States, the church known

commonly as the Baltimore Basilica.

But its full title is the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed

Virgin Mary.

A quick note, we will visit this basilica during our upcoming pilgrimage to

sites in Maryland and Northern Virginia that are important for colonial and early American

Catholicism. We're doing this in late July. Get details on our website, Americancathichistory.org,

and join us. Space is limited, and we must have a minimum of nine pilgrims by the end of May to do it.

So get those details and join us. Now, that said, let's get into the actual story.

It's a, we've got a lot to talk about. Right. It is the result of an incredibly bold strategy on

the part of John Carroll, the first bishop of Baltimore. And it has inspired the respect and admiration of Americans of all faiths since its construction.

It is truly a gem, and we are blessed to have it as the Mother Church of American Catholicism.

One remarkable fact is that it was designed by Benjamin Henry La Trobe, who was considered the father of American architecture. Another project La Trobe was

working on when he designed this cathedral was the U.S. Capitol building. La Trobe was a highly

influential architect. He was a good friend of Thomas Jefferson, and when Jefferson was president,

he made La Trobe surveyor of public buildings.

In that role, he was involved in many construction projects in the brand new city of Washington, D.C.

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