National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception (Washington, D.C.)

The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception is a Catholic minor basilica and national shrine in Washington D.C. It is the largest Catholic church building in North America and the tallest habitable building in Washington, D.C. Its construction, in the Neo-Byzantine and Romanesque Revival styles, began in 1920. The church is dedicated to the Immaculate Conception, the United States' principal patroness. It serves as the patronal church of the Catholic Church in the United States, and Pope John Paul II raised it to the status of minor basilica via the pontifical decree Clarum Constat Templum in 1990. At the shrine, Pope Benedict XVI bestowed a Golden Rose in 2008, and Pope Francis canonized Junípero Serra there in 2015.