2014 photo, Kevin JonesA U.S. flag hangs outside the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Baltimore. Built between 1806 and 1821, Baltimore Basilica was the first cathedral in the United States.
COMMENTARY: As it turns out, the French de Tocqueville had plenty to tell us Catholics about life in 1840 America, but he has much more to say to us about life in 2023.