Cathedral Basilica

The Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine is the seat of the first Catholic parish in the United States. When Spain recovered Florida from British rule in 1784, there was no church here, the previous structure having been burned in a British attack in 1702 and never replaced. The hispanic population, in a surge of pride, laid plans for a grand church, and in 1870, when the Diocese of St. Augustine was created, that church became a cathedral. The building was completed in 1794, built from the region's soft coastal limestone called coquina. The exterior shell of that building still stands. The bell tower is a newer addition, but one of the four bells it contains was recovered from an older church and is believed to be the oldest church bell in the US. The exterior of the 1794 church survived a fire in 1887, but the interior suffered severe damage. It was during the renovation that followed that the transept, chancel and the new roof with its exposed beams were added. In 1966 further renovations were completed so as to implement the reforms of Vatican II. In 1976, Pope Paul VI elevated the cathedral to a minor basilica, one of only 27 churches at that time to be so honored.