St. Joseph Basilica

Dear St. Joseph Family,
As we look forward to the celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the dedication of the Basilica on August 17, I would like to share a little bit about what basilicas are and their importance to the Church.
(from an unknown source found in the parish archives):
“Etymologically, the word, ‘Basilica,’ derived from the Greek means kingly or royal. In history, the term has both an architectural and a canonical meaning. Originally, the halls of justice of ancient Rome, oblong buildings, with three aisles, in which the center aisle was separated from the outside aisles by rows of columns and terminated in the apse, were basilicas, and later the term was applied in architecture to those churches constructed according to that definite floor plan.
Legal and general usage, however, considers the title, ‘Basilica,’ as a great honor which the Pope confers on relatively few regal churches around the world, a title which carries with its special Papal and canonical privileges... (Click here for the full message)