Customer Reviews

America's Church: The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception

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Being neither Catholic nor a fan of coffee table books I was surprised to find myself reading and enjoying Gregory Tucker's America's Church., a history of The Bascilia of the National Shrine in Washington.DC., and of the numerous personalities who persisted in creating it. This is no ordinary story: It took over 60 years to build the Shrine, which is dedicated to the glory of the Virgin Mary. It is a tale of charismatic churchmen and of ordinary men and women; of near defeat, years when Shrine stood neglected and unfinished; and, finally, of splendid triumph upon its completion. As Tucker makes clear, the Shrine really is "America's Church" -- it exists because of the ordinary Catholic men, women and children who contributed to it over the years. In telling their story, Tucker furnishes us with more than a story about a building but with a history of Roman Catholicism in America. . The book is beautifully designed, with photographs -- which made me realize that the shrine is as majestic as the most beautiful of Europe's cathedrals. You don't have to be a Catholic to enjoy America's Church.

The Pantocrator over the altar here has always been popular with what used to be called "confirmed bachelors." And apparently still is, if its popularity on blogs is any indication. When I was in the seminary most of the seminarians referred to the place across the street as the "National Crime". But an exception was always made for the Pantocrator in Judgment and his fabulous pecs.