Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist (Savannah)

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Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist
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The Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist ( English Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist ) is a Roman Catholic church in the historic district of Savannah on the northern edge of the coast of Georgia , United States . The cathedral of the diocese of Savannah , dedicated to John the Baptist , has the rank of a minor basilica .

history

Until the American Revolution , the Colonial Charter of Savannah forbade Roman Catholic Christians to settle in the city, as the English imputed a conflict of loyalty to the Spanish-ruled Florida . French Catholic emigrants founded the first Saint Jean-Baptiste church in 1799 after fleeing Haiti because of the slave revolts that began in 1791 . It became the main church for the African Americans who were released from Haiti in the early 19th century. In 1811 a larger church was built, which was consecrated by the Bishop of Charleston John England in 1839. With the creation of the diocese of Savannah by Pope Pius IX. the church was elevated to a cathedral in 1850 after repairing hurricane damage.

From 1870 the plans for today's cathedral were carried out by the architect Ephraim Francis Baldwin, which was completed in 1873 and inaugurated in 1876 ​​by the Archbishop of Baltimore, James Roosevelt Bayley . The towers of the neo-Gothic basilica were added in 1896. The structure was almost destroyed in a fire in 1898. The stained glass windows from Innsbruck were installed around 1904 , and the church was also equipped with four side altars made of white Italian marble. By 1912 the fire damage could be repaired by a new interior design with wall paintings, in 1920 the church was consecrated after the debts had been paid off. Renovations were completed in 1963, 1985 and 2000; a slight earthquake in 2011 led to cracks on the towers and around the rose window , which were extensively renovated.

Appreciations

In 1966, the Historic District of Savannah with the cathedral was placed under protection as part of the National Register of Historic Places . Pope Francis granted the church the rank of minor basilica in 2020.

Web links

Commons : Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Oglethorpe and Religion in Georgia. In: Georgia Historical Society. Retrieved July 1, 2020 .
  2. ^ Dictionnaires Robert: Haiti , Le Petit Robert des noms propres, May 27, 2015, p. 918.
  3. ^ Slavery in the Caribbean Francophone World in the Google Book Search USA
  4. ↑ Church history on savannahcathedral.org (English)
  5. ^ The Savannah Georgia NHL Historic District
  6. ↑ Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist on gcatholic.org (English)

Coordinates: 32 ° 4 '23.9 "  N , 81 ° 5' 29"  W.