Back كاتدرائيه و مكتبه القديس فرانسيس كزافييه ARZ Basilika St. Franz Xaver (Vincennes) German Catedral de San Francisco Javier (Vincennes) Spanish Basilique Saint-François-Xavier de Vincennes French Katedral Vincennes ID
Old Cathedral Complex | |
 Front of the cathedral | |
   | |
| Location | 205 Church St., Vincennes, Indiana |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 38°40′44″N 87°32′3″W / 38.67889°N 87.53417°W |
| Area | 2 acres (0.81 ha) |
| Built | 1826 |
| Architectural style | Greek Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 76000025[1] |
| Added to NRHP | 17 August 1976 |
The St. Francis Xavier Cathedral[2][3] (also known as the Basilica of St. Francis Xavier, or simply "The Old Cathedral"; French: Basilique Saint-François-Xavier de Vincennes) is a historic Catholic church in Vincennes, Indiana, under the Diocese of Evansville. Named for Francis Xavier, the 16th-century Jesuit missionary, it is located opposite George Rogers Clark National Historical Park at 205 Church Street, within the Vincennes Historic District.
Jesuit missionaries established St. Francis Xavier parish around 1734 on land donated by the King of France, making it the oldest Catholic parish in Indiana; its earliest parish records date from 1749. The present Greek Revival-style basilica church, built on or near the site of two earlier Catholic churches, dates from 1826. In 1834, when Pope Gregory XVI erected the Diocese of Vincennes, St. Francis Xavier was elevated to a cathedral and served as the seat of the episcopal see from 1834 to 1898. On 14 March 1970 Pope Paul VI elevated St. Francis Xavier Cathedral to the status of minor basilica, "an honor reserved for only the most historic churches."[4]
Between 1834 and 1898 two of St. Francis Xavier's priests became bishops (Benedict Joseph Flaget, Bishop of Bardstown, and Célestine de la Hailandière, Bishop of Vincennes), and several served as vicars general or seminary rectors. Between 1837 and 1882 seventy-five priests were ordained at St. Francis Xavier, including Michael E. Shawe, the first priest ordained in Indiana. Bishop John Stephen Bazin's episcopal consecration at St. Francis Xavier in 1847 was the first to be conducted in the state. The remains of the first four Bishops of Vincennes (Simon Bruté, de la Hailandière, Bazin, and Jacques Maurice de St. Palais) are buried in St. Francis Xavier's crypt. The basilica was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.[1]
- ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
- ^ Greene, George E. (1911-01-01). History of Old Vincennes and Knox County, Indiana. S.J. Clarke Publishing Company.
St. Francis Xavier Cathedral indiana.
- ^ Finch, Jackie Sheckler (2010-03-23). Insiders' Guide® to Indianapolis. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 9780762762293.
- ^ Richard Day. "History of the Old Cathedral". Archived from the original on 5 March 2010. Retrieved 21 April 2011.