Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart, Newark (must see)

The Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart, the fifth-largest cathedral in North America, is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark. Envisioned as a "fitting monument to the faith," construction began in 1899 and was finished in 1954. The original design called for an English/Irish-Gothic church, but plans were later modified in favor of a French-Gothic style. The Cathedral of the Sacred Heart was proposed in 1859 by James Roosevelt Bayley, the Bishop of Newark, just six years after his appointment by Pope Pius IX. Proposed sites included a corner at High and Kinney Streets and an alternate at South and Broad Streets. However, the current site, next to Branch Brook Park in the Forest Hill section of Newark's North Ward, was chosen. After nearly 95 years of planning and building, the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart was finally dedicated by Thomas Aloysius Boland, Archbisop of Newark, on October 19, 1954.

During Pope John Paul II's visit to the United States in 1995, he celebrated evening prayer at the Cathedral. At this occasion, the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart was elevated to a basilica to become the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart. The Cathedral Basilica holds concerts open to the public throughout the year and it has the largest pipe organ ever built by the Schantz Organ Co. which includes 154 ranks playable from two consoles.