In the mid-1950s the Pauline Fathers acquired a farm outside of Doylestown for a monastery and chapel. With the approaching millennium of Poland and the support of Philadelphia archbishop John Krol, funds were raised for an immense national shrine. Instead of hiring a local designer, they chose a Los Angeles architect, who designed a remarkable composition that combines forms from contemporary commercial and high design—a bit of Oscar Niemeyer, something of Victor Gruen, and more of Le Corbusier. The resulting building contests with its context even as it celebrates the international culture of the Roman Church. Dedicated on October 16, 1966, with President Lyndon B. Johnson in attendance, it is one of the few sites in the county with references beyond its immediate vicinity.