page_title: Basilica of St. Francis Xavier, Dyersville
section_title: The church building
hierarchical_section_title: Basilica of St. Francis Xavier, Dyersville / The church building
caption_attribution_description: Presented here is a photo of one of the stained glass windows at the Basilica of St. Francis Xavier, Dyersville, Iowa, United States. If you look closely, you can see the image of St. Francis Xavier ministering to a couple Native Americans. Originally, the parish had told the window maker that they wanted a window with Xavier ministering to Indians - they had meant the people of the Indian subcontinent. However the maker took Indians to mean Native Americans when designing and creating the window.
context_page_description: The Basilica of St. Francis Xavier is a parish church in the Archdiocese of Dubuque located in Dyersville, Iowa, United States. The church was named in honor of the missionary Saint Francis Xavier. It was raised to the status of a Minor Basilica in 1956. The church and rectory were listed together on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.
context_section_description: The basilica features Ruskinian Gothic Revival architecture.  The two steeples are 212 feet (65 m) tall with 14 feet (4.3 m) crosses that cap the spires.  This helps make the church visible from miles away across the rolling lightly forested farmland.  Pilots often use these steeples as landmarks during flights.  The church is a rectangular structure that measures  174.5 by 70 feet (53.2 by 21.3 m) and is 76 feet (23 m) high.  It has a polygonal apse on its west side.  The interior includes columns and vaulted ceilings.  The church has a seating capacity of about 1,000 people.  There are about 5,000 people total in the parish.
  The church has 64 large cathedral glass windows.  There are two notable windows in the church. The first is the rose window above the entrances to the church, installed in 1959.  It replaced a conventional church window on which the framework had become deteriorated. An Indian motif was selected in recognition of many local Indian tribes that inhabited this area 150 years earlier.
  The two side altars were designed by J. E. Brielmaier and erected by the Dubuque Altar Company in March 1897.  They measure 36 by 15 feet (11.0 by 4.6 m) and are made of butternut.  Mary's altar is called "The Coronation" and Joseph's is called "The Holy Family".  Brielmaier also designed the butternut Baldacchino over the high altar, which is carved Italian marble by the Milwaukee Monument Company, and they were both installed in December 1897.  The Baldacchino rises to a height of 52 feet (16 m).  The wood carved crucifix above the altar was created in 1873 for the original church.  The ornate pulpit from 1906 sits to the left of the altar.  Also carved in butternut, it was originally located in the nave and had a carved canopy over it.  It was moved into chancel in the 1940s and the canopy was removed at that time.  The images carved on the pulpit include the Evangelists: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John as well as the Apostles Peter and Paul; and five Doctors of the Western Church: Ambrose, Jerome, Gregory, Augustine and Thomas Aquinas. A free-standing altar was commissioned from the John C. Kaiser Company of Dubuque and created by Fritz Ganshirt.  It was installed in 1973.
  Above the high altar is a large central painting of the heavenly liturgy mentioned in Revelations 5: the Adoration of the Mystical Lamb of God.  To the right are images of the prophets that include John the Baptist, Noah holding the ark, David playing the harp, Melichisedech holding bread and wine, Moses holding the Ten Commandments, and the Three Magi with their gifts.  The image of Msgr. M.M. Hoffmann, the pastor when the church was named a Basilica, was added in 2000. To the left are images of saints that include the Blessed Virgin Mary, George with a spear, Lawrence with a gridiron, Stephen with stones, Joseph with a lily, Rose of Lima with a crown of roses, Peter with keys, Paul with sword, Henry the King, Boniface, Francis of Assisi, Francis Xavier, Catherine, and Cecilia playing the organ.  An image of the Rev. George W. Heer, who was pastor of the parish when the original painting was done, was added during its restoration.
  The Stations of the Cross that line side walls were installed in 1959.  The plaster bas reliefs replaced the original set that dated from 1870, which had deteriorated.
  The images on the center aisle were installed in 1998.  It is the first floor of its kind in the United States to combine "epoxy based terrazzo, and computer generated water jet laser cutting for the brass molds."  The symbols in the floor include the coats of arms of the Archdiocese of Dubuque, Pope Pius XII, the Basilica, and the Papal insignia of the Tiara and Keys.
  The 37-rank organ located in the rear gallery is a custom made instrument designed for the Basilica by the Wicks Organ Company of Highland, Illinois. The organ was designed keeping in mind the size of the church and the acoustical qualities of the building.  It was built in 1971 and replaced the Basilica's original pipe organ.
  Because one of the roles of the basilica is to serve as the Pope's churc
caption: St. Francis Xavier ministering to the Indians
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