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As Benedict XVI told priests and seminarians at the cathedral in Bressanone, Italy, in August 2008, ‘on the basis of the cathedral’s beauty, we succeed in visibly proclaiming God, Christ and all his mysteries.’

Photographing all 193 cathedrals and 93 basilicas across the United States seems like a daunting project for anyone. But 10 years ago, Andrew Masi determined to visit and photograph each one — from east to west, north to south.

On Sunday, July 21, Masi headed back to the Cathedral-Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark, New Jersey, where his idea became firmly planted. He considered this visit a “homecoming” to the place where he decided to begin this quest as a “spiritual pilgrimage to visit and photograph all the Catholic cathedrals and basilicas in the United States,” he told the Register. “I just celebrated my 10th anniversary this past April.”

Masi’s idea started when he was at the Newark basilica on Easter Sunday in 2014. Waiting for Mass to begin, he was “gazing around the majestic cathedral and taking in everything from the architecture to the large, life-sized Stations of the Cross, to the beautiful stained-glass windows, to the magnificent pipe organ,” he recalled.

He kept thinking and wondering “if all the cathedrals in the United States look just as gorgeous, big and amazing as this one. That’s when the idea came into my head to see for myself and to photograph them.”

That tiny seed sprouted into many trips — to date, he has visited and photographed 104 cathedrals and 59 basilicas in 37 states.

Because 37-year-old Masi always had “a love for traveling and photography,” he said, “What better way to combine the two great interests of mine and go to all these beautiful states across America seeing the nation for myself.”

He spreads the trips out throughout the year. Masi flies to his destination, rents a car and drives to each, grouping those in close proximity. For example, for his next trip on Labor Day weekend, he will fly to Denver to visit the Cathedral-Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, saying he’s “really looking forward to seeing that beautiful cathedral.” On that trip, he also plans to visit Colorado’s St. Mary's Cathedral in Colorado Springs, Colorado; the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Pueblo, Colorado; and then it’s on to Wyoming, for a stop at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Cheyenne.

A following trip has a planned visit the Cathedral of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Oklahoma City, just in time for its centennial anniversary in October.

Sharing Highlights

In this milestone year, Masi is grateful for past trips. He began with one standout for him — the Cathedral-Basilica of St. Peter and Paul in Philadelphia, which has been visited by St. John Paul II and Pope Francis. “That church is not only historic and big, but it’s very beautiful inside. Once you get into the main body of the church, it’s like looking into one of the basilicas in Rome. It feels like you’re in there in Rome. It’s beyond amazing.”

Another highlight is the Cathedral-Basilica of St. Louis in St. Louis, also visited by John Paul II. “I can’t even describe it,” Masi said. “It’s unbelievable, just super amazing. They have the largest mosaic collection in the world.” Mosaics filling the cathedral form the largest installation in the Western Hemisphere. “Can you imagine how many man hours and pieces had to be put together to build that cathedral? I can’t even begin to count. And it was built years before advanced technology came out, back when everything was done manually.”

Also among his favorites is the Cathedral on the Holy Cross in Boston. “The Stations of the Cross look like paintings. It’s like looking at a Leonardo da Vinci painting,” he said. “When you look at the stations, they draw you in, and you’re getting immersed to it.”

Yet another highpoint are the Stations in St. Augustine Cathedral in his home Diocese of Bridgeport, Connecticut.

Stories in Glass

The Cathedral-Basilica of the Assumption in Covington, Kentucky, has two of the largest rose windows in the United States. “When I went visiting there in 2018, I took a picture of that rose window, and the sun was illuminating it. I remember that it was designed to be similar to Notre-Dame in Paris.” The cathedral also has a 67-by-24-foot majestic transept window, considered to be the largest hand-blown stained glass window in the world.

Joy for Many

Masi’s efforts have brought much joy to others as they peruse the 18,229 photos to date on his Flickr site.

“People have told me, ‘I can’t get to these places because I don’t have the time or the money,’ or ‘I’m too elderly to do it,’ or ‘I have health issues. But I’m taking a virtual tour. It’s like a self-guided tour, taking me step by step by step to the cathedral or the basilica.’”

Father Bismarck Chau, the rector of the Cathedral-Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark, described the edifice as “an amazing structure in detail, and it actually makes you feel God,” adding that he is sure that Masi “experienced that in his heart, and that’s what brought him closer to God.”

Father Chau continued, “He started a new journey, and his journey is really impacting other people’s lives, whatever degree that may be. He has brought the beauty of our Catholic Church in the United States to many people. I think that’s something to admire.”

“I think he really is showing very much a representation of the universality of the Church,” Father Chau explained. “That’s the way I’ve been taking it in. When I look at his pictures, it's like, wow, how different we are in expressing our faith in different cities, but yet it’s one faith. If you look at the pictures, you’ll see Mary, you're going to see the Crucifix, you're going to see the altar. That’s what unites us. So it is beautiful to see the different structures of churches to worship our God.”

Also, but not easy to count, are the ways people can be inspired in their faith or even seek out the Catholic faith.

“God himself is beauty, and he attracts us somehow,” Father Chau said. “Being a priest, I guess I might be looking at these pictures in a different point of view, seeking that beauty and observing the intricacy of the designs of the painting and carving of the marble and stones, and that, to me, is beautiful.”

Masi hopes photo journal will encourage people to deepen their faith.

He answered thoughtfully, “If I could inspire one person or make a difference in somebody’s life through my pictures in my story, I would consider it a blessing from God.”