The Basilica of St. John the Baptist, St. John’s, Newfoundland
Posted by: 
hykesj
N 47° 34.009 W 052° 42.614
22T E 371361 N 5269571
This 1984 Canadian postage stamp, celebrating the bicentennial of the Roman Catholic Church in Newfoundland, shows the Basilica of St. John the Baptist, located in the City of St. John’s.
Waymark Code: WM10C02
Location: Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
Date Posted: 04/10/2019
Views: 4
This Roman Catholic Basilica was built between 1839 and 1855 in a Lombard Romanesque architectural style reminiscent of churches found in northern Italy. It is unusual for a North American building in that most of the stone was imported from Europe, namely limestone and granite from County Cork in Ireland. It was built on the highest ridge overlooking the city and as such is easily seen from the harbor. (It can also be detected on several other postage stamps which show panoramas of the City of St. John’s.) When completed, it was the largest church building in North America.
After the Papists Act of 1778 which provided some relief to Roman Catholics under British rule, the Irish Catholics in Newfoundland requested popular Franciscan James O’Donel to be sent over from Ireland to be Bishop over all the Catholic priests in Newfoundland. Soon after his arrival, Newfoundland was declared a separate ecclesiastical territory reporting directly to the Vatican. This occurred in May of 1784 and thus established a Roman Catholic hierarchy in Newfoundland. The stamp was issued in 1984 noting the 200th anniversary of this decree.
The image on the stamp was taken from an early woodcut of the basilica. Also seen on the stamp is the Arms of the Archdiocese of St. John’s, Newfoundland. It contains the Latin phrase “Vox clamantis in deserto” which means “a voice crying in the wilderness,” a reference to John the Baptist, patron saint of the Archdiocese (and, incidentally, also of the City of St. John’s).
Stamp Issuing Country: Canada
Date of Issue: 17-Aug-1984
Denomination: 32c
Color: multicolored
Stamp Type: Single Stamp
Relevant Web Site: [Web Link]
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