Basilicas and cathedrals

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What is the difference between a basilica and a cathedral? I think that a cathedral is the central church within a diocese? If that’s true, then is a basilica a central church of a larger area, like many diocese’s? I know a church serves a specific small area, but what is the reason for a chapel?

Also, is St. Peter’s in Rome an actual parish with certain people who belong to it? Or is it mainly a place where all Catholics from all over the world are welcome?

And what is the difference between a diocese and an archdiocese? Is it that many diocese’s combine to make one archdiocese (this is what I think it is).

I know this is a lot of questions…thanks in advance!
 
A cathedral is the church which has the seat of the bishop of that diocese.

A basilica indicates the architectural style of a church and/or its canonical status. In architecture, the style is a paralellogram in which the width is not greater than half the length, with porticos on the short sides and columns down the middle.

The canonical designation of a basilica is a special papal recognition for churches that have played an important role in the proclamation of the Gospel message in liturgy and the life of its members. (I’m quoting my pastor here, as our parish has been designated a minor basilica.)

The major basilicas are in Rome, minors are elsewhere, but there’s no particular geographic theme to where they’re located (not every diocese has one, some could have more than one).

I don’t know about the diocese/archdiocese distinction, though.
 
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lovelavender:
What is the difference between a basilica and a cathedral? I think that a cathedral is the central church within a diocese? If that’s true, then is a basilica a central church of a larger area, like many diocese’s? I know a church serves a specific small area, but what is the reason for a chapel?

Also, is St. Peter’s in Rome an actual parish with certain people who belong to it? Or is it mainly a place where all Catholics from all over the world are welcome?

And what is the difference between a diocese and an archdiocese? Is it that many diocese’s combine to make one archdiocese (this is what I think it is).

I know this is a lot of questions…thanks in advance!
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Melissa has answered your question about the difference between a basilica and a cathedral. Just one additional fact: St. Peter’s is a basilica, but it is not “the pope’s Church.” The pope’s church (his cathedral) is St. John Lateran. According to an ancient tradition, there are five churches in Rome that are “given” to the five patriarchs of the ancient world. St. Peter’s is the patriarchal church of the Ecumenical Patriarch!

A diocese is any area headed by a bishop. An archdiocese is simply a larger, or more important, diocese. Some archdioceses are of such import that they have a Cardinal as the head of them.

Deacon Ed
 
Thank you for your answers. I’m glad I asked, because I’ve been assuming the wrong things for years (especially about the diocese/archdiocese). Sometimes I feel like everyone (who is Catholic) should know these things, that’s why I’ve always felt afraid to ask.

If I could ask another question; what does a Cardinal do? What is his main job? I know that they elect a new Pope, but other than that? How many of them are there? Do they ever get assigned to churches or do they all live in Rome?

Do all the Catholic Priests visit the Vatican once a year? I think I heard that once.
 
There are currently 119 cardinals who are under age 80 and therefore can elect a new pope should that become necessary. Of these, all but three were made Cardinals by Pope John Paul II.
There are an additional 60 or so Cardinals over 80 and thus ineligible to vote.

Most Cardinals head the most important archdioceses but some, such as Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, lead the departments in the Vatican. However, under JPII even Cardinals who head dioceses have had important roles in administering the Universal Church. Cardinal George travels to Rome all the time.
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  All Cardinals are assigned "titular churches" in and around the City of Rome but to my knowledge do not actually administer them. I think they celebrate Mass there when they are about to enter the conclave to elect a new pope but I do not know what else they do with respect to their titular churches. It may well vary with each Cardinal.

 Sometimes one hears (not anywhere on these forums) of the "Cardinal of Chicago." That is erroneous. Francis Cardinal George is the Archbishop of Chicago. He was an Archbishop before he became a Cardinal, just like most other Cardinals who head dioceses. He has no more jurisdiction in this area than any other archbishop would have. However, Chicago, like New York and Philadelphia and other important cities, usually has its archbishop named a Cardinal shortly after he takes his post.
-Illini (26 and counting)
 
An archdiocese is the head of an ecclesiastical province, although the archbishop has no real authority over the other dioceses in his province. In the U.S., each ecclesiastical province generally corresponds to U.S. state boundaries. Usually the archdioces encompasses the largest, most important city in the province, although other dioceses in the province could technically have more population. Example: The Archdiocese of New York encompasses Manhattan, Staten Island, the Bronx, and a few downstate New York counties. Brooklyn and Queens are in a separate diocese (Diocese of Brooklyn) which actually has a larger Catholic population than the Archdiocese of New York, but it is just a diocese!

Basilica architectural style is a copy of the Roman law court. If you were to visit the Forum in Rome, you would see a building called the Basilica of Maxentius, but it wasn’t a church! Generally speaking, basilica style encompasses a rectangular nave, a semicircular apse (area behind altar) and 1 or 2 side aisles, depending upon the importance of the basilica. The more important basilicas like St. John Lateran have 2 side aisles. The style works because the sight lines naturally draw you to front and center where the altar is found (Cathedral of Milwaukee now excepted). The term “basilica”, as other posters have indicated, now has the wider meaning besides architectural style.
 
Thank you, everyone, for these informative answers. I have learned a lot. 🙂
 
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