St. Francis Xavier Cathedral and Library
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Old Cathedral Complex
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Front of the cathedral
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| Location | 205 Church St., Vincennes, Indiana |
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| Coordinates | 38°40′44″N 87°32′3″W / 38.67889°N 87.53417°WCoordinates: 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 # | 76000025 |
| Added to NRHP | 17 August 1976 |
The St. Francis Xavier Cathedral (also known as the Basilica of St. Francis Xavier, or simply "The Old Cathedral") is a Roman Catholic church in Vincennes, Indiana. The basilica is named for Francis Xavier, a 16th-century Jesuit apostle, and is located opposite George Rogers Clark National Historical Park, at 205 Church Street. Jesuit missionaries established St. Francis Xavier parish around 1734, making it the oldest Catholic parish in Indiana. Its earliest parish records date from 1749. The present Greek Revival-style basilica, built on or near the site of two earlier Catholic churches, dates from 1826. St. Francis Xavier has ties to six Roman Catholic dioceses in North America: the Diocese of Quebec, Canada, the Diocese of Baltimore, Maryland, the Diocese of Bardstown, Kentucky, the Diocese of Vincennes, Indiana, the Diocese of Indianapolis, Indiana, and the Diocese of Evansville, Indiana. 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. The seat of the diocese was moved to Indianapolis in 1878, and in 1898 the episcopal see was renamed the Diocese of Indianapolis. On 14 March 1970 Pope Paul VI elevated St. Francis Xavier Cathedral to the status of Basilica (minor basilica), "an honor reserved for only the most historic churches."
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 Rémur, Célestine de la Hailandière, John Stephen 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. It is located in the Vincennes Historic District.
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