“Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything that is beautiful, for beauty is God’s handwriting – a wayside sacrament. Welcome it in every fair face, in every fair sky, in every flower, and thank God for it as a cup of blessing.”

– Ralph Waldo Emerson

There are a lot of hopes and dreams manifest in Saints Peter and Paul Basilica.

For the past week, the Catholic community of Maine has celebrated the designation of Saints Peter and Paul as a minor basilica, one of only 56 in the United States. A Mass of Thanksgiving, which will be performed today at 5 p.m. by Bishop Richard Malone of Portland, will end a week of events marking the honor.

Construction began in 1904. It took 34 years to complete, built with nickels and pennies donated by millworkers even during the Depression. Its imposing towers, reaching higher than 160 feet, provide an imposing landmark for visitors to Lewiston. With two sanctuaries, one seating 1,800 and the other 1,500, Saints Peter and Paul is the largest church in Maine and the second-largest Catholic church in New England.

Keats wrote that “A thing of beauty is a joy forever; Its loveliness increases; it will never pass into nothingness.” Perhaps, but beauty often needs a helping hand. So it was for Saints Peter and Paul. By the 1980s, the magnificent building needed major restoration and renovation. At one point, demolition was considered – and rejected.

The community responded, and two capital campaigns restored the building to its intended glory.

In 2000, the former bishop of Portland, Joseph Gerry, appealed to the Vatican to honor Saints Peter and Paul with the basilica title. To earn the distinction, a church must have inspiring architecture, be historically significant and serve a broad community with quality programs.

But Bishop Gerry’s application went much further. Writing in today’s Sun Journal, Monsignor Marc Caron provides insight into the bishop’s motivation. Gerry, Caron writes, hoped to honor the sacrifices made by parishioners to build and restore Saints Peter and Paul. But he also recognized the historic and cultural role the church has played in the community. “For many years, Saints Peter and Paul has been a point of pride in the state’s Franco American community. It was the place where many Franco leaders were educated and where the language, faith and culture of New France were fostered.”

The physical beauty of Saints Peter and Paul is easiest to recognize. It’s there for all to see and represents the power of faith to accomplish the amazing. But the real beauty of the basilica rests in the people who have supported it – and been supported by it – for more than 100 years. That loveliness continues to increase.