The Re-Unified Triumphal Arch

Solemnity: June 29

St. Peter and St. Paul, the original Patrons of our Parish from 1880 to 1898, are prominently featured on the lower foundational level of the Triumphal Arch. Their inclusion not only honors their pivotal roles in the early Church but also reflects their enduring legacy as cornerstones of our faith community. This historical representation connects us to our roots and underscores the timeless relevance of their teachings and sacrifices.

Feast Day: July 14

 The first Native American to be canonized a saint by the Church.  Algonquin by birth but raised by the Mohawks, she is also known as the Lilly of the Mohawks.  She is associated with outsiders, exiles, orphans, and people ridiculed for their beliefs. She is also patroness of Indigenous people, patroness of ecology and ecologists.

Feast Day: May 10

A priest of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, he was ordained in the Cathedral of Honolulu in 1864, he was eventually sent to minister on the Island of Molokai, where the government had established its Leper Colony.  He helped to raise the residents up from their physical sufferings, while making them aware of their worth as beloved children of God. St. Damien contracted Hansen’s Disease (Leprosy) himself and died intimately united to those for whom he had spent his life.  He is considered patron of those with leprosy, those suffering from HIV/AIDS, those who are bullied, and all those cast out by society.

Feast Day: September 5

She once said, “By blood, I am Albanian. By citizenship, an Indian. By faith, I am a Catholic nun. As to my calling, I belong to the world. As to my heart, I belong entirely to the Heart of Jesus.”By an act of Congress, she was granted Honorary Citizenship in the United States in 1996 (one of only 8 so honored, two of whom were granted it while still living – the other being Winston Churchill).
On June 12, 1995, while visiting Atlanta for the opening of the Gift of Grace House, (where her Sisters, to this day, minister to homeless women with HIV/AIDS within our parish boundaries), Mother Teresa attended Mass and spoke at the Basilica. She is the patroness of World Youth Day and the Missionaries of Charity, intimately united to those for whom she had spent her life.
During her visit to Sacred Heart, Mother Teresa delivered beautiful and memorable remarks from the lectern. It was noted in the Atlanta Journal the next day that she was “barely taller than the lectern she stood behind”. The pew she used when at the Basilica has been resized and refinished for the Marist Chapel.

Feast Day: November 13

St. Frances Xavier Cabrini (1850-1917), also known as Mother Cabrini, was an Italian-American religious sister and the founder of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. She was born in 1850 in Italy, and died in 1917 in Chicago after dedicating her life to serving immigrants and the poor, from coast to coast throughout the United States. Having arrived here in 1889 she established schools, orphanages, and hospitals to support the growing immigrant population here. Over her lifetime, she founded over 67 institutions across the U.S. and in other countries. She was canonized as a saint by Pope Pius XII in 1946, and is the “Patron Saint of Immigrants.” With her feast day celebrated every November 13, St. Frances Xavier Cabrini is remembered for her tireless work and dedication to helping those in need, embodying the spirit Jesus’ own Sacred Heart, with her compassion and service.

Entered eternal life on July 9

Augustus Tolton (1854–1897) was the first recognized African-American Roman Catholic priest in the United States. Born into slavery in Missouri, he escaped to freedom during the Civil War. After the war, Tolton pursued his education and felt a calling to the priesthood, despite facing significant racial discrimination and obstacles. He was eventually ordained in 1886 in Rome, as no American seminary would accept him due to his race. After his ordination, he returned to the United States to first serve in Quincy, Illinois and then Chicago where he worked to build a vibrant community for African American Catholics. Having entered eternal life on July 9th of 1897, Father Tolton’s cause for canonization was opened in 2010, and Pope Francis proclaimed him “Venerable” in June of 2019. Venerable Augustus Tolton’s legacy is significant in both the history of the Catholicism in the United States and the broader context of African American history, as he broke barriers and paved the way for future generations of all American Catholics.

Feast Day: November 16

A German Benedictine Nun, Abbess, Theologian and Mystic of the 13th century, lived her spiritual life in deep personal union with Jesus and his Sacred Heart.  Once, in deep prayer, she had a mystical vision on the Feast of John the Evangelist: as she rested her head near Jesus’ wounded side, she could hear the beating of his heart. She then asked St. John if he too, felt the beating of Jesus’ Divine Heart on the night of the Last Supper when he had laid his head against Jesus’ chest. He told her he was saving this revelation for a time when the world needed it to rekindle its love. To distinguish her from another Abbess and Saint by the same name, Pope Benedict XIV gave her the title, “the Great,” making her the only woman saint to be so-called.