February 1, 2026 marked the 100th anniversary of The Basilica of Saint Mary being named the first basilica in the United States. We celebrated this milestone with a festive celebration and an old-fashioned pancake breakfast. 1,000 pancakes were made and over 500 parishioners and friends were served. Archbishop Hebda celebrated our centennial Mass and preached a beautiful homily. I am thankful to all who were part of the planning and celebration of the Mass and reception in Teresa of Calcutta Hall. This celebration took place in a city that has been besieged for the last several weeks by violence, death and tumult – this reality is not lost on any of us. For more than 100 years, The Basilica of Saint Mary has opened its doors to all – in season and out of season – in celebration and in times of great need and loss. Our Basilica is worthy of significant investment for our present and for future generations of faith as we continue to announce the Gospel of Jesus Christ and accompany all in need.
Earlier this month, The Basilica Landmark publicly launched Restoring Beauty, Inspiring Hope – a 45-million-dollar campaign to fund the comprehensive restoration of our beloved landmark. We are excited to announce that to date, we have raised more than 34 million dollars toward our 45 million dollar goal! This is significant as we have raised more than 75% of the overall goal. Over the last two years, this campaign and the restoration project have taken a considerable amount of my time and energy – I am grateful to support such an important and historic endeavor.
I thank all of our parishioners and friends whose tremendous generosity has provided significant momentum to our campaign thus far, allowing us to substantially seal up the exterior of the church and prepare for the comprehensive restoration of the church’s interior. I am also thankful to our parish leaders and staff who have put in countless hours and energy into the capital campaign and restoration project. It will take all of us to reach our 45-million-dollar goal to support the preservation and restoration of The Basilica for years to come. This is a generational project and will require maximum support from our parishioners and friends.
I have been so moved by how generous our parishioners and friends have been thus far – to be more than 75% to our goal is a significant blessing. We are also beneficiaries of the Archdiocesan Lord Renew Your Church capital campaign. The Archdiocesan campaign has raised more than 1.5 million dollars toward out 45 million goal. I am thankful to Archbishop Hebda and Archdiocesan leaders for including The Basilica of Saint Mary and the Cathedral of Saint Paul – landmark churches – as worthy of archdiocesan-wide support. Here at the Basilica, we cannot rest on our success or on the support of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis – all of us are called to step up generously to reach our goal.
Here is my ask: please prayerfully reflect on what The Basilica of Saint Mary has meant to you over the years. Please reflect too on the potential of The Basilica to continue as a beacon of light and hope in these challenging times and into the future. Lastly, please prayerfully discern the blessings you have received from God and how you might use these blessings to help us restore our beloved Basilica. We are asking all parishioners and friends to consider giving one of the largest gifts that you have given to any charity. We are asking you to make a sacrificial and meaningful gift. The Griffith and Gillespie families have already stepped up with generous support of the Restoring Beauty, Inspiring Hope capital campaign. Please join us in restoring America’s first basilica for the next 100 years and beyond.
May our generous God bless this important endeavor and may St. Mary, our patroness and friend, generously intercede as we seek to restore and renew The Basilica of Saint Mary.