The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is opened in 1823 and blessed as the first Roman Catholic cathedral in the U.S. The Baltimore Basilica is later consecrated in 1876.
Begun in 1806, the Basilica is the masterpiece of Benjamin Henry Latrobe (1764-1820), the “Father of American Architecture.” The construction is supervised by Bishop John Carroll (1735-1815). The Basilica features the marriage of an innovative neoclassical design with a traditional Latin cross plan.
Baltimore becomes the first Roman Catholic Diocese in the U.S. in 1789 and John Carroll is its first bishop. When the diocese is first established, it has jurisdiction over all of the U.S. east of the Mississippi River.
