If you are a movie fan, you are probably thinking about the Baseball field which is a popular tourist attraction left over from when the Field of Dreams movie was filmed in Dyersville, and the Baseball field is still a popular tourist attraction...
Good guess!! But, nope -- you are really off base. (insert groan here). I'm not talking about the baseball field...
Here's another hint...the thing I'm talking about is very rare...as a matter of fact -- there are only 70 of them in the United States....
Dyersville, Iowa has a BASILICA. No kidding. I've lived in Iowa all my life, and I did not know about the St. Francis Xavier Basilica.
Apparently, Dyersville is a VERY CATHOLIC community. Until a few years ago -- they didn't even have a public high school -- everybody attended Catholic Schools.
The Basilica is so beautiful -- I looked it up on Wikipedia to find out more...
Dyersville was originally settled by English immigrants. Within a few years the English moved on. After that many German immigrants began to arrive in the area. A parish was founded in the area to serve these immigrants. Shortly afterwards, the first Saint Francis Xavier Church was built in Dyersville, Iowa. For a number of years this church served the needs of the community. But by the 1880s, it became clear that with the increasing population of Dyersville and the surrounding area that the old church building would no longer be adequate.... The parish decided on a large Gothic architecture building in order to serve the increased population. The pastor at the time. Reverend Anton Kortenkamp (1834-1889), also had the foresight to have the altar placed upon a foundation of solid rock, which is one of the requirements for an altar to be consecrated. By 1888 the church was finished. When the building was dedicated, special trains brought people from all over the state of Iowa to witness this dedication. After the completion of the present building, the old church was converted into classrooms. It was later torn down after a new school was completed. The move to elevate Saint Francis Xavier began in the 1940s. Then Father Hoffman, who had served in Europe began to advance the cause to Vatican officials. The cause was furthered when a high ranking German Cardinal, Konrad von Preysing, visited the church. In the mid-1950s the church building was consecrated.... On the interior there are a number of small gold crosses on the side walls, marking the twelve places where the church walls were anointed when the church was consecrated. Once consecrated a church building may never be used for any other purpose and only a consecrated church can be elevated to the rank of a Basilica. Previously the parish had worked hard to attain and maintain a debt-free status, a preliminary requirement before a church can be consecrated. In 1956 the parish was elevated to the rank of Minor Basilica by Pope Pius XII. This happened when the parish received a papal brief from the Vatican that proclaimed St. Francis Xavier as having the rank of Minor Basilica. A mass officially naming the church as a Basilica was held at a later date; this attracted crowds from all over the state, as well as many high ranking clergy. The second organ in the Basilica, which replaced the original one, was installed in July 1971. This 37-rank organ is a custom-made instrument designed and manufactured for the Basilica by Wicks Organ Company of Highland, Illinois to replace an earlier instrument that was installed in 1915. The organ was designed keeping in mind the size of the church and the acoustical qualities of the building. The pipe organ, like an orchestra, speaks with many voices. Also, like an orchestra, the beauty of the many voices depends upon the beauty of each individual voice. The interior of the church was recently refurbished. The paintings and frescos were cleaned. Other frescos that were hidden under coats of paint were restored. The Baldacchino, the main altars, the side altars, and the statues were cleaned and restored. This was possible due to a gift from a parishioner. This refurbishment helped to increase the beauty of the church interior. ***************** Iowa. Wow. You are just full of surprises...
No comments:
Post a Comment