Basilica of Saint Louis, King of France (The Old Cathedral)
The history
The oldest cathedral west of the Mississippi and the first church in St. Louis — a log chapel blessed on this ground in 1770, six years after the city was founded. Bishop Rosati laid the cornerstone of the present Greek Revival stone church in 1831 and consecrated it in 1834; the Latin frieze reads DEO UNI ET TRINO. It lost the title of cathedral in 1914 when the new one opened on Lindell, and Pope John XXIII made it a basilica in 1961. The first American conference of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul was organised inside it in 1845. When the riverfront was levelled for the Arch, this was the one building they did not take down.
In brief
Roman Catholic basilica in downtown St. Louis, built 1831-1834, the oldest cathedral west of the Mississippi and the only building left standing when the riverfront was cleared for the Gateway Arch.
Read more →Then & now
My photos
