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Great Cathedrals, Abbeys, and Basilicas

Naming of Churches

Canon law requires that sacred buildings (churches, oratories and private chapels) must be blessed or dedicated and given a title of one of the following.

  • Name of the Trinity
  • Name of Christ, invoked under a mystery of his life (Christ the King, Holy Redeemer, Good Shepherd, Blessed Sacrament, Epiphany, Corpus Christi, Resurrection, etc.)
  • Name of the Holy Spirit
  • Name of Mary, under a given title or mystery (Immaculate Conception, Assumption, Holy Rosary, Queen of Peace, Our Lady of Lourdes, Our Lady of Sorrows, etc.)
  • Name of the Angels
  • Name of a canonized Saint or saints in the Roman Martyrology (St. James, St. Tomas More, Holy Innocents, etc.)
  • Name of a Blessed (provided the Apostolic See has given it’s permission.)

By convention, famous Cathedrals are often known by the town in which they were built, but all that are still associated with the Catholic Church have an approved Catholic name. (Many Catholic Cathedrals were dedicated to a mystery of St. Mary, hence the popularity of Notre Dame in France.) Cathedral that fell into the hands of Protestant reformers, particularly in England, were usually stripped of their associated Saint Name.)

Famous cathedrals are organized by their age and architectural style. Since most cathedrals have been frequently remodeled or updated, the architectural styles descriptions that follow are not exact.

ANCIENT (Churches first built in the 4th century)

  • Basilica of St. John Lateran (Rome, named in honor of St.John the Baptist and St. John the Apostle)
  • Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore (Rome)
  • Church of the Nativity (Bethlehem)
  • Church of the Holy Sepulchre (Jerusalem).

BYZANTINE (500 - 1000)

  • Santa Sophia (Constantinople/Istanbul, now Hagia Sophia)
  • Basilica of Sant Apollinare in Classe (Ravenna)
  • St. Mark Basilica (Venice)
  • St. Basil's Cathedral (Moscow)

ROMANESQUE (a.k.a. NORMAN)

  • Speyer Cathedral (Germany, 1030)
  • Mont St. Michel (France, 1035)

ROMANESQUE WITH MIXED STYLES
(Originally Romanesque but remodeled)

  • Basilica of Constantine (Trier, Germany)
  • Cathedral of St. Peter in Trier (Trier, Germany)
  • Santiago de Compostela Cathedral (Galicia, Spain)
  • Basilica of Anthony of Padua (Padua, Italy)

GOTHIC (From 12th century on)

  • St. Denis Abbey (Paris)
  • Canterbury Cathedral (England)
  • Notre Dame (Paris)
  • Salisbury Cathedral (England)
  • Chartres Cathedral (France)
  • Reims Cathedral (France)
  • Westminstser Abbey (England)
  • Winchester Cathedral (England)
  • Duomo Cathedral (Milan, Italy)

RENASAINCE (Mostly 15th century Italy)

  • St. Peter's Basilica (Vatican)
  • Sistine Chapel (Vatican)
  • Cathedral of St. Mary of the Flowers (Florence)
  • Cathedral of St. Mary of the See (Seville, Spain)
  • Basilica of San Lorenzo, Florence

BAROQUE (Ornate, highly artistic, 17th and 18th century)

  • St. Mary of Burgoes (Burgoes)
  • Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar (Saragosa) and Cathedral of Seville (Rivalry!!)
  • Basilica of Our lady of Mercy (Barcelona)

NEO-GOTHIC (19th century "neo-classic" revival)

  • Washington National Cathedral (Washington, DC.)
  • St. Stephens Cathedral (Budapest , Hungary)

MODERN (20th century)

  • Sagrada Familia (Holy Family)