Basilica of the Assumption

Beautiful! In the heart of Mt. Vernon one of the oldest neighborhoods in Baltimore. It was wonderful to celebrate Mass here while visiting this beautiful city. The little gift shop was wonderful! I picked up some things for friends and family. I would love to go back again.

I feel close to our Savior and Blessed Mother here. The church is absolutely beautiful. Very spiritual place in the baptismal font is a special place from members of the family who are just recently brought into the Catholic faith. It is a very historic location as well. I would recommend taking a tour of the facility to include underneath the Basilica.
If you have the opportunity I would also encourage you to go to mass there.

Beautiful. They open at 9a for tourists and also offer guided tours. Mass was in English with a full church. The architectural details were stunning.

This was a gorgeous place to stop during my stay in the area.

Definitely worth a visit if you’re in Baltimore! The Basilica is the oldest Roma Catholic cathedral in America, and was majorly renovated in 2006.
I came here after a couple of hours at the Walters Museum. Had a private tour by STEVEN, who deserves a million thanks and a promotion, if volunteers can get those.
We came on a Sunday, and there was a pretty large sign that said, «Tours available Monday through Friday.» I’m one to try my luck, so I went up to the nearest employee (Steven) and asked about a tour of the crypt (I’d toured the crypt at the Notre Dame in Paris, so I wanted to see what another one looked like!). He seemed dismissive of me, asking suspiciously, «Just the crypt?» and started walking.
I walked with him, and said, «Well, you can give me a tour of everything if you want, but yes, I’m interested in the crypt too. And look, we just so happen to be at the start of the tour!» (We’d walked near the sign that says TOURS START HERE.) He saw I was clever, smiled, and said okay.
Steven took us down to the crypt (really just the basement, nothing like the Notre Dame) and asked if we wanted to see a movie about the church. I said yes. It was about 15 minutes long, and about the history and recent renovation of the Basilica. It wasn’t a blockbuster thriller, but I found myself engaged and it didn’t feel like a long 15 minutes.
We followed that with walking around the crypt — the architecture is awesome — and then a tour of the actual church part. At the end, we got to see the little Basilica «Museum.» I wouldn’t really call it a museum myself, but they have some little priest hats and robes and chalices and pictures and letters (memorabilia).
Though he seemed suspicious of me at first, Steven warmed up pretty quickly and spent over an hour with us walking us around the church. He’s a member who volunteers his time, and it’s obvious that he’s knowledgeable about it’s history, but more importantly, really loves the building. He made our experience memorable and I’m so glad we stopped in.

Worth a visit on its own. There are also other attractions nearby such as the Washington Monument and the Enoch Pratt Free Library. Easy access off the Purple Route of the free Charm City Circulator. Take a self-​guided free tour any time of day any day or a guided tour at 3 different times on weekdays. The free self-​guided tour comes with a map to help identify what you are looking at. More helpful than the map however are little silver rectangular plaques throughout the building giving a bit more info on what you are looking at than just the title provided on the map. Be sure to take a look at both the upper church and undercroft levels of the church, the latter of which is also home to the gift shop.

The Basilica of the Assumption is an absolutely beautiful place to attend mass. I didn’t get to visit much of the grounds but attend a late 4:00pm Sunday service, but really loved how serene and peaceful it was inside. I particularly enjoyed how the presiding priest gave a little context to each bible reading, it was a nice touch on better understanding how we can relate to the passage. The grounds outside were beautiful, and I especially loved the peaceful Pope JPII Prayer Garden. I would like to come back again and go on the guided tour.

Small basilica (take the tour, you’ll learn why it’s a basilica and not a cathedral), doesn’t hold a candle to anything in Europe. But it’s airy, Catholic and storied. Free tours make the visit worthwhile, just check their website for the times. The Basilica of the Assumption isn’t a destination stop, but if you’re in the area and have an hour free, think about dropping by.

My first visit, and I found it peaceful and beautiful inside. Many parts of the Basilica are under repair since last year’s earthquake.
Tip for first timers: Before you visit, Check their website for hours of operation.

A very peaceful & beautiful place to pray or attend Mass. Tours are offered to help learn the religious, historical, & archetictual significance of the Basilica.

Its technically called, «Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary». This is the first US church constructed after the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

Such a beautiful church. We came here early on a Saturday morning. We were the only visitors so it was pretty sweet being able to walk around in quiet.
There is a crypt in the basement where I guess some old Catholic dudes are buried. Kinda spooky but fascinating.
One of the employees was nice enough to offer us a personal tour since there was no one else around but we politely declined and just walked around on our own.
A visit to the Basilica + the Walters Art Museum makes for a great half day of sightseeing in the Mount Vernon neighborhood. Highly recommend!

My dad researched this and it was open before the museum so we tried it out. Wow, this place is amazing just seeing the basement with the maze-​like layout. Plus, we got to see some special exhibits on their traditional clothing of the popes. Expect to spend around 1 hour to 2 hours depending if you take the tour and visit the museum. For us, we got their before 9am and we saw a family waiting at the tour guide sign. The tour guide never showed up but again it was during the holidays. Bring your camera since there are some great shots inside the basilica.

Just gorgeous! My parents use to take me there when I was a child and I have very fond memories of this church.

This is truly a beautiful basilica. You must visit the catacomes.

This review isn’t for the beauty that is within the Basilica of the Assumption, but rather the beauty without: Pope John Paul Prayer Garden.
This garden is truly a treasure that people pass everyday without noticing. It’s a place of peace that acts as a mini oasis in the middle of the city. Sure there are parks everywhere, but not many private spots of land like this that are just for reflection and solitude. You can be alone while surrounded by the world, which is truly, truly amazing to me. It’s perfect for a great read, a quick lunch, or just quiet time with yourself.
«Stop and smell the roses» isn’t just a cheesy cliché, it should be something that we all do from time to time. We need to be grateful that such a sweet little place is open and available for our appreciation and sanity daily. If you work downtown, you should be visiting once a week at the very least. Try it and see!

Reviewing a «Church» which is actually a Basilica is a little odd to me.
However, my sister and I took a morning to see if there was a service or tour. Who am I kidding? The weekday service was at 6am which meant we would have had to wake up at 4am to make it with the drive time. So we hoped for a tour. Our timing worked out perfect since there was an older gentlemen getting ready to do an informal tour for several people and he offered to have us join him.
It was a truly amazing, informational intimate tour that I thoroughly enjoyed. He took us through every inch of the basilica that he was permitted to walk through. He contributed personal stories along with all the dates and past history of the Basilica. He explained the obvious and answered all the questions we threw his way. He himself had obviously spent years loving this place of prayer. I learned much and hope to visit again when I ahhhh have more time to attend a mass. I would imagine the holidays or sacrament being celebrated here would be an amazing experience.
The Basilica of the Assumption is the oldest cathedral in America (built in the early 1800s). The basilica was renovated in the last decade and it is absolutely beautiful.

Amazing church! Its very peaceful and beautiful a true gem in Maryland. Attended two services and the Priest gave beautiful messages. Must see. The museum downstairs is pretty neat.

Beautiful and historically significant structure.

Church doesn’t quite do the Basilica of the Assumption justice — it is a basilica after all. After attending my friends’ wedding rehearsal at the basilica, listening to the monsignor at the rehearsal dinner and then attending the wedding at the basilica, I feel like the basilica and I are close friends.
I’m still not entirely sure what the difference is between a basilica and a cathedral, but I know (or at least Monsignor Kenney says) that the Basilica of the Assumption is the oldest cathedral in America — the mother cathedral of America (built in the early 1800s). My weekend in the Baltimore area was an educational one — I also learned that Maryland is the Catholic capital of the country.
From the outside, the basilica doesn’t look like it would be much — basic, gray. But the basilica was renovated in the last decade or so, and it is gorgeous. It has that new/​old feeling because the place is sparkling, brand-​spanking new, but it still retains some of the old charm (like the beautiful stained glass). The inside of the basilica is this beautiful yellow color, buttery and warm with beautiful paintings on the dome.
One of the great things about the newly renovated basilica is that all of the facilities are renovated too — many and NICE, clean bathrooms. There’s a little gift shop next door for bottled water (I was quite parched).