The Vatican has given Honolulu’s Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace the honorary title of “minor basilica” in recognition of its historic and spiritual significance.
The Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments in Rome granted Bishop Larry Silva’s petition for the special designation with a 200-word decree in Latin dated May 10 and signed by prefect Cardinal Antonio Canizares Llovera.
The document, as translated by diocesan judicial vicar Father Mark Gantley, states that the Vatican congregation “is pleased to confer the title and dignity of minor basilica, with all corresponding rights and fitting liturgical privileges, to the cathedral church … for the singular purpose of the veneration of the Christian faithful of the place and so as to give exemplary inspiration to all virtuous observers.”
The new title of the cathedral is the Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Peace.
Bishop Silva said that he hopes the basilica, which holds the relics of St. Marianne Cope and St. Damien de Veuster, will “grow” as a spiritual destination for visitors from all over the world.”
“It has been a place of prayer, worship and celebration of the sacraments for generations,” he said, “but its status as a basilica will give it more attention as a place of pilgrimage for visitors and residents alike.”
Bishop Silva announced the Vatican’s decree in a July 18 letter to the clergy, religious, and faithful of the Diocese of Honolulu the day after he received via Federal Express the official copy from papal nuncio Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano.
“It is with great joy that I announce to you that the mother church and seat of the Diocese of Honolulu, the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace, has been designated a minor basilica!” Bishop Silva wrote.
“The designation of minor basilica is an honor that links it in a special way to the Holy Father,” Bishop Silva said.
The bishop cited the church’s age and its use by Hawaii’s two saints as among the reasons for the special honor.
“In this Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Peace, countless thousands have encountered the risen Lord Jesus in word and sacrament and have been renewed and strengthened in their faith,” he added.
A Mass of Thanksgiving in commemoration of the new basilica designation will be at the cathedral, at 10 a.m. on Oct. 11, the fifth anniversary of the canonization of St. Damien.
The Honolulu church is the United States’ 82nd minor basilica, including two in the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico and one in the territory of Guam.
The last American church to be named a basilica was St. Fidelis Church in Victoria, Kansas, in March. The Vatican named three U.S. basilicas in 2013: St. Mary of the Assumption in Marietta, Ohio, Immaculate Conception in Jacksonville, Fla., and the Shrine of St. Mary in Wilmington, N.C.
Worldwide there are more than 1,600 minor basilicas.
The church has four major basilicas, all in Rome: St. Peter’s, St. Paul Outside the Walls, St. John Lateran and St. Mary Major.
The highest ranking Catholic church is the cathedral, which holds the cathedra, or bishop’s chair, the sign of his authority as pastor of the diocese.
According to the “Norms for the Granting of the Title of Minor Basilica,” published in 1989 by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, a church seeking the title of basilica “must stand out as a center of active and pastoral liturgy,” should be of an appropriately large size, enjoy a certain historic, religious or aesthetic “renown,” and have enough priests to carry on its liturgical and pastoral duties, a sufficient number of lay ministers and a good choir.
Among its distinctions, the Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Peace, dedicated in 1843, claims to be the oldest cathedral in continuous use in the United States. It is the church where St. Damien de Veuster was ordained a priest in 1864 and that greeted St. Marianne Cope when she arrived in Hawaii in 1883. Today it contains the relics of both saints and the graves of Bishop Louis Maigret and Bishop John J. Scanlan.
An application for basilica status must come from the local bishop and include a written description of the church and its history and unique nature, and an ample number of detailed interior and exterior photos.
Bishop Silva first inquired about changing the status of the cathedral in 2006 in a letter to the Vatican’s Congregation of Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.
He followed up in May of last year with a 25-page application which included details about the church’s history, its construction and furnishings, liturgical practices, pastoral works, restoration plans and about 50 photographs.
All minor basilicas are expected to celebrate certain church feasts to highlight its bond with Rome. These include the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter the Apostle (Feb. 22); the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul, Apostles (June 29); and the anniversary of the pope’s election.
Catholics who visit the basilica on special days may receive a plenary indulgence under the usual conditions of sacramental confession, Holy Communion and prayers for the intention of the pope. Those days include the anniversary of the declaration or dedication of the basilica, the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul and a day determined by the local bishop.
The designation of minor basilica gives the church the right to exhibit the papal symbol of the “crossed keys” on its banners, furnishings and on its seal.
Also, the rector of the basilica, in this case Father John Berger, may wear over the cassock and surplice, a black mozetta, or cape, with red piping, buttons, and button holes.
Traditional symbols of a basilica, a red and yellow umbrella or “ombrellino” and a bell, a “tintinnabulum,” which are still displayed in many of them, are not mentioned in the 1989 Vatican directives. Bishop Silva hopes to have the umbrella and its processional pole locally crafted. The bell will come from the cathedral’s collection of historical artifacts. Both should be ready for the Oct. 11 celebration.
