Basilica and Shrine of Our Lady of Perpetual Help
Encyclopedia
The Basilica and Shrine of Our Lady of Perpetual Help is a Roman Catholic Basilica
Basilica
The Latin word basilica , was originally used to describe a Roman public building, usually located in the forum of a Roman town. Public basilicas began to appear in Hellenistic cities in the 2nd century BC.The term was also applied to buildings used for religious purposes...

 in Boston, Massachusetts, sometimes known as Mission Church.

The Redemptorist Fathers built a modest wooden mission church on the location in 1870. The current church structure was first built in 1878, of Roxbury puddingstone; its spires were added in 1910. Due to the church's sloping foundation, the west cross tops its tower at 215 feet (65.5 m); the other spire is two feet shorter. The length of the church is also 215 feet (65.5 m), presenting a perfect proportion. The church was elevated to basilica status in 1956 by Pope Pius XII
Pope Pius XII
The Venerable Pope Pius XII , born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli , reigned as Pope, head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City State, from 2 March 1939 until his death in 1958....

.

It is located on Tremont Street
Tremont Street
Tremont Street is a major thoroughfare in Boston, Massachusetts.-Etymology:The name is a variation of one of the original appellations of the city, "Trimountaine," a reference to a hill that formerly had three peaks. Beacon Hill, with its single peak, is all that remains of the Trimountain...

, almost at the center Mission Hill, a 0.75 square miles (1.9 km²) Boston neighborhood of approximately 18,000 people. The church is considered the symbol of the neighborhood, to which it gives its name.

Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

 Edward Kennedy
Ted Kennedy
Edward Moore "Ted" Kennedy was a United States Senator from Massachusetts and a member of the Democratic Party. Serving almost 47 years, he was the second most senior member of the Senate when he died and is the fourth-longest-serving senator in United States history...

's funeral took place there on August 29, 2009. He had often prayed at the church due to its proximity to the hospitals in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, where he had visited sick and injured members of his family.

See also

  • Our Lady of Perpetual Help, the shrine's namesake saint
  • The Mission Hill neighborhood of Boston, MA
    Mission Hill, Boston, Massachusetts
    Mission Hill is a 3/4 square mile neighborhood of Boston, with the population of approximately 18,000 people.The neighborhood is roughly bounded by Columbus Avenue and the Boston neighborhood of Roxbury to the east, Longwood Avenue to the northeast and the Olmsted designed Riverway/Jamaicaway and...

    , listed in the National Register of Historic Places
    National Register of Historic Places
    The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...


External links

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