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Our Mother of Africa Chapel

African-American Roman Catholic churchesAfrican-American Roman Catholicism

The Our Mother of Africa Chapel is a shrine housed in the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. It was built in the 1990s after a fundraising appeal sponsored by the National Black Catholic Congress, and was dedicated in 1997.It features a large bronze statue of Our Mother of Africa, a Madonna and Child figure styled with Sub-Saharan African features, designed by Ed Dwight. Other sculptures flank the chapel and represent various aspects of African-American culture and history.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Our Mother of Africa Chapel (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors).

Our Mother of Africa Chapel
Michigan Avenue Northeast, Washington

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N 38.933333333333 ° E -77.000555555556 °
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Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception (Shrine of the Immaculate Conception)

Michigan Avenue Northeast 400
20017 Washington
District of Columbia, United States
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nationalshrine.com

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Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception
Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception

The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception is a large Catholic minor basilica and national shrine located at 400 Michigan Avenue NE, in the northeast quadrant of Washington, D.C., United States, adjacent to the Catholic University of America. It is served by the Brookland-CUA Metro Station on the Red Line, roughly 1,640 feet (500 m) away. The shrine is the largest Catholic church building 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 on February 7, 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. Pope Francis canonized Saint Junípero Serra, O.F.M., on September 23, 2015.The Basilica does not have its own parish community, but serves the adjacent Catholic University of America, which donated the land for its construction, and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. It also hosts numerous Masses for various organizations of the Church from across the United States. The basilica is not the cathedral church of the Archdiocese of Washington, as that title and honor belongs to the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle. As of 2022, the rector of the basilica is the Reverend Monsignor Walter R. Rossi, who holds a Licentiate of Canon Law.