<br>The New York Daily News reported today that New York’s new archbishop, who arrived to the city from Milwaukee in April, thinks the church in Little Italy merits the recognition as a church of historical or spiritual significance.
«I just think it deserves it,» he said. «I’m so proud of this old cathedral.»
The archbishop announced his intentions Sunday at the church’s bicentennial celebration.
St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral was the seat of the Diocese of New York for 70 years. It was replaced in 1879 by St. Patrick’s Cathedral on Fifth Avenue.
There are some 1,538 basilicas in the world, and 62 basilicas in the United States. In New York, the Our Lady of Perpetual Help and St. James Cathedral in Brooklyn are both basilicas.
