DETROIT (WWJ/AP) - A Detroit church has been declared a basilica by Pope Francis, a rare honor for a Roman Catholic parish in the U.S.
The Archdiocese of Detroit says Ste. Anne Church is one of only 86 churches in the United States to carry the title of Minor Basilica, including three in Michigan. Ste. Anne parish, near the Detroit River, began in 1701.
Ste. Anne is the second-oldest continuously operating Catholic parish in the U.S. The current church was built in 1886.
Monsignor Charles Kosanke told WWJ Newsradio 950 this is a special honor for the 319-year-old church, which he described as "a living, diverse, vibrent communtiy."
"I mean, the Holy Father wouldn't want to name a church a Basilica that was just going to become a museum," Kosanke said.
Kosanke said the church had to go through an extensive application process.
"This took a lot of work and research on the part of our staff to document every single aspect of the church architecture, of the chuch's history and the documentation of the numbe of people who come here on pilgrimage," Kosanke said.
Kosanke says over 15,000 pilgrims visited Saint Anne since he came in four years ago, and he expects that number to keep on growing.
Archbishop Allen Vigneron will celebrate the designation at a Mass on April 26.
