Cathedral Basilica

Hidden away in the heart of St. Louis is one of the city's crown jewels, the Cathedral Basilica. This is the spiritual center of the Archdiocese of St. Louis. Construction on the cathedral started in 1907. Outside the Romanesque style architecture blends beautiful with the Byzantine style interior. It houses the one of the world's largest collection of mosaics created by 20 different artists, covering 83,000 square feet. For it, the artists used 41.5 million pieces of glass creating the works from 1912-1988. In 1997 Pope John Paul II designated the Cathedral of St. Louis a Basilica. The view above is looking up the central aisle and extending upwards into the large dome. The light shines down from the windows above on everyone who enters the cathedral.