BREAKING NEWS: Pope to Honor Stamford Church

Oct. 17 — 4:25 p.m. — There are three in Chicago, but only two in New York City — both in Brooklyn.  San Francisco, San Diego, Boston, Baltimore, New Orleans, Minneapolis, Denver, Philadelphia and Phoenix only have one each.  There are 1,538 in the world, with the most (543) in Italy and only 62 in the entire United States out of a possible 22,000.  There is only one in Connecticut — until now .

What are they?  Catholic Churches designated by the Holy Father as a “Basilica.”  And come May 2010, Saint John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church in Stamford will receive that coveted honor from the Pope.  The parish plans months of cultural, spiritual and social activities in honor of the designation.

Just as a Monsignor is a priest specially recognized by the Pope, a Basilica is a special church recognized by the Pope.   One website defines a basilica as “a Roman Catholic church that has been given the right to use that name by the pope.  Only some large important churches have this right.”  In the ranking of Catholic churches, a Basilica ranks just under a Cathedral.

St. John’s pastor, Msgr. Stephen DiGiovanni, a historian, knew the significance — both architectural and spiritual — of his parish church, the Mother Church of southern Fairfield County.  Educated in Rome with a doctorate, he made it his personal mission for the past year or more to work through the arcane Vatican procedures to attain the honor for the church.

According to its website,”St. John’s Parish began in 1847 and was established as an independent Catholic parish in 1854 as the Mother Church for the growing Catholic community of Stamford, Darien, Greenwich and surrounding areas.  All Catholic parishes and institutions in this area have their roots in Saint John’s Parish. Today we are the parish for downtown Stamford.” This past February the parish was featured in a  NY Times article for its unique practice of offering an hour of confessions daily — including Sundays.

With the support of Bishop William Lori, who officially submitted the 300-plus page petition to authorities in Rome.  Success is being announced this weekend at the parish, with the official ceremony occurring in May when the Papal Nuncio in the United States, Archbishop Pietro Sambi will come to Stamford for the dedication.  He will say, “We, by our apostolic authority . . . erect St. John the Evangelist to the dignity of a lesser basilica and bestow upon it all the privileges which belong to the lesser basilicas of this our own cherished city.”

So, when someone asks what does Stamford have that Manhattan doesn’t?  You can answer, a Basilica.