page_title: Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception
section_title: Architecture
hierarchical_section_title: Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception / Architecture
caption_attribution_description: English: The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception Front View of building detail
context_page_description: The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception is a large Catholic minor basilica and national shrine located in Washington, D.C., United States, on 400 Michigan Ave NE, Washington, DC 20017, near the Catholic University of America.
  The shrine is the largest Christian church in the United States and in North America, and one of the largest in the world.The basilica is also the tallest habitable building in Washington, D.C. Its construction of Byzantine Revival and Romanesque Revival architecture began on September 23, 1920, with renowned contractor John McShain and was completed on December 8, 2017, with the dedication and solemn blessing of the Trinity Dome mosaic.
  The basilica is the national and patronal Catholic Church of the United States, honoring the Immaculate Conception as Patroness, accorded by Pope Pius IX in 1847. Pope Pius XI donated a mosaic rendition of the image in 1923. The shrine has merited several papal visits, namely the following:
  Pope John Paul II raised the National Shrine to the status of Minor Basilica on October 12, 1990.
  Pope Benedict XVI bestowed a Golden Rose on April 16, 2008.
context_section_description: The basilica houses 81 chapels honoring Mary and reflecting the origins of the Catholic immigrants and religious orders whose generosity erected them. Its Greek-styled interior is crowned with numerous domes decorated in mosaics, similar to the Basilica of St. Mark in Venice, Italy, but much larger. The mosaics feature American renditions of traditional Catholic images. Artist Jan Henryk De Rosen, who presided over the shrine's iconography committee was also responsible for much of its decor, including composing the large mosaic over the northern apse.
  The exterior of the basilica is 459 ft (140 m) long, 240 ft (73 m) wide, and 237 ft (72 m) tall to the top of the cross on the dome. The exterior area of the basilica is 19,166 square metres (206,300 sq ft). The diameter of the main dome (the Trinity Dome) of the basilica is only 7 feet (2 m) smaller than that of the dome of the United States Capitol. The interior area of the basilica is 12,069 square metres (129,910 sq ft). The shrine was built in the style of medieval churches, relying on masonry walls and columns in place of structural steel and reinforced concrete. It was designed to hold 10,000 worshipers and includes modern amenities such as a basement cafeteria, hidden public address speakers to carry speech at the altar to the rear of the building, air conditioning and the largest (in 1959) radiant heating slab in the world.
  In all, 81 chapels and sacred images flank the sides of the  Great Upper Church and the Crypt Church. It contains many works of art. There are arches outlined with iridescent Pewabic Pottery tile, large ceramic medallions set in the ceiling, and fourteen Stations of the Cross in the Crypt Church.
caption: The detail of the grand facade of the basilica
exif: {"Image Make": "Apple + Pro HDR", "Image Model": "iPhone", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "7.1.2", "Image DateTime": "2014:07:14 16:19:17", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Centered", "Image ExifOffset": "200", "GPS GPSLatitudeRef": "N", "GPS GPSLatitude": "[38, 55, 1133/20]", "GPS GPSLongitudeRef": "W", "GPS GPSLongitude": "[77, 0, 5/2]", "GPS GPSAltitudeRef": "0", "GPS GPSAltitude": "28700/437", "GPS GPSTimeStamp": "[20, 19, 17]", "GPS GPSImgDirectionRef": "T", "GPS GPSImgDirection": "76712/219", "GPS GPSDate": "2014:07:14", "Image GPSInfo": "918", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "1238", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "5264", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/1869", "EXIF FNumber": "12/5", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "50", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2014:07:14 16:19:17", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2014:07:14 16:19:17", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "5771/531", "EXIF ApertureValue": "4845/1918", "EXIF BrightnessValue": "14309/1451", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Spot", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "103/25", "EXIF SubjectArea": "[1631, 1223, 881, 881]", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "3264", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "2448", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "33", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF LensSpecification": "[103/25, 103/25, 12/5, 12/5]", "EXIF LensMake": "Apple", "EXIF LensModel": "iPhone 5 back camera 4.12mm f/2.4"}