Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus - Hanover, Pennsylvania

(CNS photo/Chris Heisey and Emily
Albert, The Catholic Witness)

Destination: Before the United States was born, Catholics were worshiping in the Conewago area of Pennsylvania. Father James Pellentz — who would be Vicar General to Bishop John Carroll of Baltimore, when the diocese was founded in 1790 — oversaw the construction of a stone church that was the first in the Americas to be dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Just more than 10 miles from Gettysburg, any history vacation to Pennsylvania should include a stop at the basilica.
Masses are 7 a.m. Monday-Friday; 6:30 p.m. Saturday; 7:30 and 10 a.m. Sunday.
Why to go: There is considerable evidence that English Jesuits established a mission post in Hanover along the Conewago Creek in 1637.
In 1741, a log chapel was built and by 1784 the parish was serving more than a thousand faithful, making it the largest Catholic congregation in the country.
In 1787, the same year the U.S. Constitution was ratified, the larger church was completed, and it remains the oldest church in the nation built entirely of stone.
Pope John XXIII raised the church to the rank of minor basilica July 11, 1962.
Time-lapse photography captures stars circling over the basilica.
Access: The basilica and its parking area are accessible to the handicapped.
(Grand) Kid friendly: This is both a Catholic and an American history site, great for those “what I did on my summer vacation” questions when school starts.
Info: Address — Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, 30 Basilica Dr., Hanover, PA 17331-8924. Phone —717/637-2721. Web — www.hbgdiocese.org; click on Parishes & Missions and on About the Diocese, Growth of Catholicism Geographically, and Conewago Area.

- Compiled by Sharon Boehlefeld
Send your Catholic destinations ideas to seasonedobserver@rockforddiocese.org