See the Decree!

                                                                             BUFFALO
              At the request of His Excellency, the Most Reverend Richard Joseph Malone, Bishop of Buffalo, in a letter of 1 August 2016 expressing the prayers and desires of the clergy and the lay faithful, the Congregation of Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, with the power of faculties given to it by the Supreme Pontiff FRANCIS, very willingly bestows upon the parish church in the city of Olean that is dedicated to God in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary of the Angels, the title and dignity of a MINOR BASILICA, with all the attached rights and liturgical concessions to be observed as these are regulated by the Decree “Regarding the Title of a Minor Basilica,” promulgated on 9 November 1989.

            All this is granted, anything to the contrary notwithstanding. 

            Issued from the office of the Congregation of Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments on 14 February 2017, the feast of Saints Cyril, monk, and Methodius, bishop.

+Robert Cardinal Sarah

  Prefect 

  Congregation of Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments
 

Pictured: A close-up of the beautiful watermark of the Office of the Holy See as seen in the sunlight on the parchment of the official Decree. The seal of the Congregarion for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments is also evident in the sunlight. The watermark is completely invisible after framing (under UV light protected glass). It is expected that this framed Decree was presented to the congregation on the occasion of the Solemn Mass celebrating the designation as Minor Basilica on June 29, 2017. It is on display inside the basilica.