St. Edward Catholic Church is now the Basilica of St. Edward, making it the 94th minor basilica in the United States. St. Edward, the only Catholic church on Palm Beach, will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2026. It got the basilica designation in part due to its ornate architecture and historical significance. Photos provided
By Janis Fontaine
In January, Gerald M. Barbarito, Bishop of the Diocese of Palm Beach, learned that St. Edward Catholic Church in Palm Beach had become the Basilica of St. Edward effective Dec. 13, 2024, making it the 94th minor basilica in the United States.
It was news the Rev. Glen Pothier, St. Edward’s rector, had been awaiting for months and working toward for years. Father Glen had assumed pastoral duties from the Rev. Monsignor Thomas J. Klinzing in April 2022 and dedicated himself to bringing attention and favor to the only Catholic church on Palm Beach.
The Rev. Glen Pothier, St. Edward Catholic Church’s rector, worked with the Vatican for several years in seeking the basilica designation.
“In December 2022, I realized that 2026 would be the 100th anniversary of the church and I thought maybe I can request a designation that would elevate the church to a basilica,” Father Glen said by phone. The next month he wrote to the Conference of Catholic Bishops to learn about the process and got to work.
“I did it all myself,” he said. “I don’t do well in committees.”
The work was a 119-item questionnaire about every aspect of the church from its history to its traditions to its daily operations. “They wanted every detail, how we do everything, visuals, pictures, the historical significance. They wanted real detail. It took me a year to complete, and we sent it all with the appropriate cover letters off to the Vatican and waited for a response.”
Father Glen heard back from the Vatican in November. The response had one issue: The priest’s chair near the altar wasn’t formal enough. “The church is in an old style, and everything is in marble, but the priest’s chair is made of wood and has cushions and didn’t fit in,” Father Glen said. “It was kind of lost among all the Carrara marble of the altar.”
Father Glen made arrangements to have a new marble chair made and sent off the plans to see if they met with the approval of the church. They did.
“The new chair is being made in Tuscany,” Father Glen said. “Haifa Limestone is coordinating it, and we hope to have it by June or July. It’s the same Carrara marble with cherubs all through it, consistent thematically with the altar.”
In February, Father Glen was able to announce the news to the congregation and on March 1, Bishop Barbarito marked the designation with a Votive Mass, saying, “We are very grateful and honored that the Vatican has designated the church of St. Edward in Palm Beach as a minor Basilica. It is not only a recognition of the historic significance of this church, but also of the life of all the churches within the Diocese of Palm Beach. We now share a special bond with our Holy Father, Pope Francis, through the Basilica Churches in Rome.”
Basilica “literally means ‘a royal house,’ and being a basilica is symbolic of being close to the pope affectionately, in prayer. On feast days, we celebrate with extra remembrance,” Bishop Barbarito said. The special affiliation with the Vatican grants the church special precedence, he said.
Bishop Barbarito noted that the recognition is especially significant in 2025, which the pope declared the Jubilee Year of Hope. Every 25 years is a Jubilee Year, which is a special year with unique blessings. The faithful are called to make a pilgrimage to a basilica to attain special dispensations, like plenary indulgences.
Tradition says passing through the doors of the Basilica of St. Peter, even to recite the Lord’s Prayer, symbolizes entering a new life in Christ, a journey of conversion, and a commitment to spiritual renewal.
With St. Edward as a minor basilica, its designated Holy Doors are symbolically like those in Rome and provide the same gifts. “Making a pilgrimage to a basilica or cathedral with the Holy Doors during the Jubilee year is an opportunity to express hope in Christ and renew one’s path to eternal life,” Father Glen said.
Several symbols will be added to St. Edward, at 144 North County Road, to complete the transition. “A new crest was commissioned that is now complete but there are things that we need: A beautiful papal umbrella called an umbraculum that would be carried when the pope visited, and a special bell called a tintinnabulum that would be rung,” Father Glen said.
The bell is under construction by Dixon Studio, a company in Staunton, Virginia, specializing in church interiors, stained glass, metalware and statuary. The studio crafted the tintinnabulum for the 93rd Basilica of St. Andrew in Roanoke in 2023. “They were so kind, and it was so easy to work with them,” Father Glen said.
St. Edward is one of seven basilicas in Florida and the only basilica in Palm Beach County. Father Kevin McQuone, assistant professor of pastoral theology at St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary, said in an email that becoming a basilica is “an honorary title that churches receive for significant historical, cultural or other ecclesial significance. For example, the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington DC is a minor basilica because of its significance as a gathering space for Catholics from around the nation.”
Presidents and prime ministers, families of the wealthy and well-connected, capitalists and heads of industry have worshipped at St. Edward over the past 100 years. It was the Kennedy family’s home church when they were in Palm Beach and Rose Kennedy, the matriarch of the family, rarely missed daily Mass when she was wintering at 1095 N. Ocean Blvd. According to the Palm Beach Post, John F. Kennedy last attended church at St. Edward on Easter Sunday 1963.
St. Edward “is different from the other churches in the Diocese,” Father Glen said, because Palm Beach is different. “It’s important for its historic contributions, and as a place of worship for people visiting from around the world. The clientele are of a different caliber. Not better, just different. The man in the pew may be a billionaire hedge fund manager, but all men need the word of God preached to them.”
Church milestones
• The land for the church was purchased in 1926 for $80,000, according to the historical information gathered by Pothier. A visionary Jesuit priest, Father Felix Clarkson, was given permission by the Bishop of St. Augustine to purchase three lots at the corner of North County Road and Sunrise Avenue to establish a “mission” church.
With Father Clarkson as general contractor, crews broke ground on the church on Easter Sunday, April 4, 1926. Father Clarkson raised around $300,000 of the $500,000 total cost.
• The first service held was Midnight Mass on Dec. 25, 1926. More than 1,500 people attended.
• On Feb. 13, 1927, the Most Reverend Patrick Barry, D.O., Bishop of the Archdiocese of St. Augustine, dedicated the Church of St. Edward.
• In January 1941, the Rev. James Cloonan became the first resident pastor and in 1942 a residence was built to house the priests serving the parish, including a guest suite for the bishop and space for parish offices.
• In 1958, through the generosity of Lorraine Freimann and Frank Freimann, the church acquired property on the east side of North County Road and built the parish center.
• In 1992, Father Francis J. Lechiara joined St. Edward and devoted himself to the total restoration of the church. With the enthusiastic support of the parishioners (and a final cost of $1.2 million), Father Frank oversaw the repair and restoration of both structural and irreplaceable decorative elements of the church. The restoration he began continued after his death in 2011 under the Rev. Monsignore Klinzing. The renovations earned the church two prestigious awards for historical preservation: the Ballinger Award from the Preservation Foundation of Palm Beach, and the Knott Award from the Historical Society of Palm Beach County.
• An ecumenical service (meaning a gathering of Christian denominations) was held at St. Edward Catholic Church in Palm Beach for President Kennedy on the 50th anniversary of his assassination, Nov. 22, 2013.
St. Edward’s architecture
The exterior of St. Edward was built in the Spanish Renaissance style using cast stone with combed Brazilian stone ashlar (masonry made of large square-cut stones, typically used as a facing on walls of brick or stone). It has two towers and a Spanish tile roof. Three sets of bronze doors open into the vestibule, which is flanked by chapels dedicated to St. Anthony and St. Theresa. The 28-foot Altar of the Sacred Heart which stands in a niche more than 40 feet high is Carrara marble. The large picture window over the main entrance — which faces North County Road — depicts St. Edward, the church’s patron saint.
The intricate hand-painted ceiling and frescoes include a mural of the 12 apostles surmounted by a depiction of the crucifixion in the niche above the altar. The “Marian Windows,” a magnificent stained glass depicting the life of the Blessed Mother, are another defining feature.
Who was St. Edward?
Edward the Confessor was the son of King Ethelred III and his Norman wife, Emma, daughter of Duke Richard I of Normandy. After Ethelred’s death in 1016, Emma married Canute (Cnut the Great), who became king and brought peace and prosperity to England.
In 1042, Edward’s half-brother, Hardicanute, son of Canute and Emma, died and Edward became king. In 1044, he married Edith and continued his reign, considered a peaceful one characterized by his good rule.
Edward’s interest in religious affairs led to the building of the original St. Peter’s Abbey at Westminster, the site of the present Abbey, where Edward is buried. Because of his piety, he was given the name “the Confessor” and he was canonized in 1161 by Pope Alexander III, the only king to be canonized by the pope.
St. Edward is the patron saint of difficult marriages and separated spouses.
Janis Fontaine writes about people of faith, their congregations, causes and community events. Contact her at fontaine423@outlook.com
Comments