Catholic cities in the US

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Which are the Catholic cities in the US that I can tour with my family?
 
sweetpeace said:
Which are the Catholic cities in the US that I can tour with my family?
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What do you mean by Catholic cities? There are areas of the US that have large Catholic populations but none that can be called exclusivly Catholic (except the small town of Ave Maria in Florida) but not sure if that is a tourist spot.

What you might want to do is visit cities that have a good number of famous spots, like Washington DC where the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception is and the Franciscan Monestary with replicas of the Holy Land…or NYC to see St. Patricks and many other historical and beautiful churches. There are numerous shrines located in other areas of the country. You can do the mission trail in California and visit historical mission churches. Depending on the time you have you can choose a specific area of the country and look up shrines and historical churches in that area.
 
Thanks for the info. Please tell me which cities are near Washington so that we don’t waste too much time travelling. I am looking for places where we can visit Churches and historical places.
 
sweetpeace said:
Thanks for the info. Please tell me which cities are near Washington so that we don’t waste too much time travelling. I am looking for places where we can visit Churches and historical places.
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Baltimore is close to Washington. That is the premier see of the United States, the seat of the first Bishop of the new land. It has 2 cathedrals, one just recenty restored. IT is also a wonderful city to visit as it has a beautiful waterfront area. There is also Emmitsburg, not too sure how far from DC it is. There you will find the national shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton.
 
If you were coming to California, I’d suggest the California Missions. It’s a long road trip even for those of us who live here, but they are wonderful churches and are full of history.
 
:tiphat: Now if you were to come to Texas, you could see the old spanish missions here in San Antonio and visit the National Basilica of the Little Flower, which is a shrine to St.Therese of liseux run by the Discaled Carmelite Fathers. If you go to www.texasescapes.com, you can find information about the painted churches, which are old Catholic churches built back in the 18 and 1900s which have painted ceilings, etc.
Muenster Texas is mainly a German Catholic town and they have a website,
also Westphalia, Olfen, and Rhineland are mainly german Catholic towns. High Hill, St.John, Praha, and several other small communities around here are on the painted churches trail and were founded by Czechs, Poles and Germans.
Panna Maria is the first community founded by Poles in the US, and Czestachowa is up the road from Panna Maria and both are solid polish catholic towns.
St.Hedwig was founded by Poles from Silesia and named for their patron Saint.
There is also Koscuisko,Tx as well. Castroville was founded by settlers from Alsace
brought over by Henry, Count Castro.They have St. Louis Day in honor of St. Louis, King of France.

If you go to Baltimore, you can go to Fort MacHenry, where Francis Scott Key wrote the Star Spangled Banner.There is also a railroad museum around the area we went to it as kids with our parents. I went to Congress,the US.Mint and spent a little time at the Smithsonian when my class went on a field trip where I attended McArthur Junior High School when we lived on Fort Meade, MD. My dad was at NSA for the AirForce.
This was way back in 1970-71.
 
although not a Catholic church, you can go see the National Cathedral in Washington DC. I believe it’s the second largest church in the US and also contains the tomb of Woodrow Wilson.
 
yessisan said:
If you were coming to California, I’d suggest the California Missions. It’s a long road trip even for those of us who live here, but they are wonderful churches and are full of history.
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I “second” this advice! We’ve been to many of the Missions on the famous “Mission Trail”. My favorite Missions are Santa Barbara; San Luis Obispo; San Juan Capistrano and San Buenaventura. All of them, beautiful! Blessed Junipero Serra (Founder of many of the California Missions)… pray for us!

Have a safe journey! God bless.
 
I’ve never been to DC, so I can’t personally recommend any sites, but when the Pope was here recently the newspaper USA Today ran an article which mentioned possible sites of interest to tourists:
The Washington area’s connection to Catholic history spans nearly 400 years. Just 60 miles from the city, a large cross in St. Clement’s Island State Park, Md., marks the spot where the first Mass in English-speaking North America was celebrated in 1634, according to Kim Cullins, a spokeswoman for St. Clement’s Island Museum; www.stmarysmd.com/recreate/museums. Maryland was then a new colony with a Catholic governor. The area is now part of the Archdiocese of Washington.
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St. Mary’s County — where St. Clement’s Island is located — includes the Newtowne parish, which dates to 1640, and St. Ignatius Church, which was built in 1798 but includes an older chapel from the 1600s. Grounds include an old cemetery, outdoor prayer area and a hilltop view of two rivers; www.chapelpoint.org.
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Back in Washington, the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception at 400 Michigan Ave., NE —www.nationalshrine.com— is one of the largest churches in the world, according to Archdiocese spokeswoman Susan Gibbs. The church is dedicated to Mary, and its chapels include different representations of Mary from cultures around the world. The basilica is adjacent to Catholic University.
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President Kennedy’s funeral was held at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle, and the famous photo of John Kennedy Jr. saluting his father’s casket was taken there. Gibbs added that an annual Mass is held there on the Sunday before the Supreme Court session opens each October “to pray for the justices and others in the administration of justice.” The cathedral is located at 1725 Rhode Island Avenue, NW; www.stmatthewscathedral.org.
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Another noteworthy church is St. Augustine at 15th and V streets, NW. The parish was founded by emancipated black Catholics 150 years ago, and today the church is known for an outstanding gospel choir; www.saintaugustine-dc.org/html/history.html.
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The Franciscan Monastery at 1400 Quincy St. NE, “is one of the hidden treasures of Washington and is particularly beautiful in the spring,” said Gibbs. “It contains replicas of the shrines of the Holy Land and peaceful gardens.” Tours are offered Monday-Saturday at 10 a.m., 11 a.m., 1 p.m., 2 p.m. and 3 p.m., and on Sundays at 1 p.m., 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. Tours are free, but donations are welcome; www.myfranciscan.org. Groups should call ahead, 202-526-6800.
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content.usatoday.com/travel/GCITravel/InsidePage.aspx?sUrl=/travel/destinations/2008-04-02-dcny-catholic-sites_N.xml&cId=guampdn
 
If you are planning your trip to the US to be a religious pilgrimage you really aught to look elsewhere. The United States is a very un-Catholic country. Many parts of the country are decidedly anti Catholic. The Catholic church is constantly ridiculed by popular culture and the news media. Thousands of babies are murdered every week in the countries abortion mills. Millions of dollars are spent weekly on pornography and prostitution. Catholics are a small minority in most of the states and the few states where Catholics are a majority are best known for their liberal politics or their hedonistic festivals. Stay away from the US but please pray for us!
 
pyro_alchemist said:
If you are planning your trip to the US to be a religious pilgrimage you really aught to look elsewhere. The United States is a very un-Catholic country. Many parts of the country are decidedly anti Catholic. The Catholic church is constantly ridiculed by popular culture and the news media. Thousands of babies are murdered every week in the countries abortion mills. Millions of dollars are spent weekly on pornography and prostitution. Catholics are a small minority in most of the states and the few states where Catholics are a majority are best known for their liberal politics or their hedonistic festivals. Stay away from the US but please pray for us!
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Well most people can’t stay away becuase they live here. And Europe is no better than America.

At any rate there are so many good and hidden places on the East Coast. Aurisville up near Albany, NY. The FFI’s near Binghatom, NY and in CT. The lasallette shrine in Attleborough, MA. The great old churches in Boston, MA. The Barnibite shrine in Niagara Falls, NY. The monks that make bread in Rochester, NY. The nuns that make candy in MA. The shrine thats near springfield MA. The Our Lady of Chestova shrine in Penn.

There are so many places to go if you just talk and research and look. America is not as bad as pyro makes it out to be.
 
purplesunshine said:
… America is not as bad as pyro makes it out to be.
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But can you take exception with any of my comments? I am and American and a Catholic just as you but I am near despair. Our country has been going down the wrong road for many years and just recently plunged over a cliff.
 
pyro_alchemist said:
But can you take exception with any of my comments? I am and American and a Catholic just as you but I am near despair. Our country has been going down the wrong road for many years and just recently plunged over a cliff.
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Again. What makes us any worse than Europe? Or China? or any other country for that matter? Bar smaller countries like Austria.

You’re not near despair you’re already there. America bashing is just foul. There are great Catholic places for people American and not to visit. We were, and still are, the “new world”. The missionaries came here and the places that they settled are still strongholds of faith and prayer.

You are denying the fact that there are wonderful, strong, uplifting Catholic venues in America becuase you can’t see them. Thats your own fault. They are there if you look hard enough. There are hundreds and thousands of monistaries, abbey’s and convents that dot the countryside that are excellent places for retreat from the world. Cause guess what…America is not that far off from the rest of the world.
 
When I was in California I didn’t get to do the mission trail, but I have to say the Mission Dolores in the Mission District of San Francisco was wonderful to visit - a great testament to faith in a very secular city!
 
St. Louis, Missouri has been called the “Rome of the West,” and it’s well worth your visit! The Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis (“New Cathedral”) is beautiful and was visited by Pope John Paul II on his last apostolic journey to America in 1999. There are plenty of churches and shrines in town, and lots of free things to see and do besides the Catholic “stuff”. 👍
 
If you are interested in both history and beautiful Catholic places to visit, I would suggest the East Coast.

You could begin in Washington, see Basilica as well as the wonderful historical sites, then head to Baltimore and Emmitsburg, MD. Only two hours from that is Philadelphia, which has a cathedral as well as numerous shrines in the surrounding areas – St. Gianna, Padre Pio, St. Rita. Philadelphia also has wonderful historical sites – Betsy’s Ross’s house, Ben Franklin’s, Liberty Bell.
 
If you are coming to California, come to Sacramento and see the restored Cathdral of the Blessed Sacrament. It is beautiful.
 
St. Augustine, FL is a wonderful city to visit for Catholic History. The FIRST MASS in the Continental US was celebrated there!.. and it has a really neat historical area (old city streets and Castillo de San Marcos, or locally known as “the fort”)…
 
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