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2 unusual facts about Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception


Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception

In 2008, during his apostolic visit to the United States, Pope Benedict XVI bestowed the Golden Rose upon the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.

Papal inauguration

Pope Paul VI, the last pope to be crowned or to use a papal tiara, abandoned the use of his tiara in a ceremony at the end of the Second Vatican Council, and announced that it would be sold and the money obtained would be given to charity; it was in fact bought by Catholics in the United States and is now kept in the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C..


The Verdin Company

Other notable installations include the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, the Smithsonian Institution, the Canadian Parliament Buildings and Walt Disney World Resort, and the 88 bronze bells cast for the Ohio Bicentennial.

Tiara of Pope John Paul II

No papal tiaras outside the property of the Vatican (with the sole exception of the Tiara of Pope Paul VI on display at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington DC) ever use that format.


see also