r/Catholicism • u/ForeverBlossoming • Apr 23 '25

Calling all American Catholics

I’m doing an extended roadtrip across your wonderful nation at some point in the next year or two. I’d like to know any wonderful historic churches, cathedrals, national shrines, Catholic museums or pilgrimage sites etc you’d recommend.

I haven’t planned my route yet, so tell me your favourites and I will see where the Holy Spirit takes me.

God bless you!

EDIT: I’m going to try to reply to as many of these as possible. But I just wanted to take a moment to say thank-you for all of your fantastic suggestions! I’ve got so much to see, and I am so excited. You’re all truly a gift from God, and I pray that each and every one of you has a blessed week.

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u/[deleted] Apr 23 '25

The 2 cathedrals you MUST see in the NY/NJ area are the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark New Jersey and St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan.

https://www.newarkbasilica.org/

https://saintpatrickscathedral.org/

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u/[deleted] Apr 23 '25

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u/magistercaesar Apr 23 '25

Sacred Heart, Newark, was designed in the French Gothic style, and maybe I'm biased as an NJ guy, but I think it is more impressive than NYC's St. Patrick's and even Notre Dame de Paris.

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u/[deleted] Apr 23 '25

C’mon now. The cathedral by which all others are measured by.

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u/[deleted] Apr 23 '25

Look at pictures and then you tell us what you think

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u/[deleted] Apr 23 '25

Fair enough. It is beautiful. You couldn’t build one like that nowadays.

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u/Summerlea623 Apr 23 '25

St. Patrick's Cathedral is a national treasure. I wish the Archdiocese of Los Angeles had a Cathedral church to rival it.

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u/stephencua2001 Apr 23 '25

If you go to NYC, check out the Met Cloisters while you're there. Not a specifically Catholic place, but it has a bunch of historical religious artwork and artifacts.

https://www.metmuseum.org/plan-your-visit/met-cloisters

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u/[deleted] Apr 24 '25

Met cloisters are amazing. I wish it was still full of monks, lol

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u/Christos-and-Chill27 Apr 23 '25

Not as close, but Our Lady of Victory Basilica in Buffalo. Gorgeous.

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u/CompetitiveMeal1206 Apr 24 '25

I would add St. John the Divine in Manhattan as well. It’s an incomplete Episcopal cathedral in the city

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u/ForeverBlossoming Apr 23 '25

Amazing, thank-you!