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1732
Georgia's 1732 charter barred Catholics from living in the colony
The 1732 charter of the Province of Georgia explicitly prohibited Catholics from residing in the colony. The ratification of the US Constitution in 1788 meant Georgia could no longer ban Catholicism. The first Catholics arrived in Savannah in the late 18th century, as refugees from the French Revolution, which started in 1789, and from the Haitian Revolution of 1791.
A diocese
A diocese in 1850, a new cathedral in 1876, and a name changed back
In July 1850 Pope Pius IX erected the Diocese of Savannah, and Saint John the Baptist, the only Catholic church in the city, became its cathedral. A few weeks later a hurricane damaged it heavily. The cornerstone of a new cathedral was laid on November 19, 1873, and its Neo-Gothic sanctuary was dedicated on April 30, 1876, as Our Lady of Perpetual Help. In 1883 the old name returned, because the Vatican had never approved the new one.
1898
A fire in 1898 destroyed the interior, and it was rebuilt
In 1896 the diocese added spires, stucco and whitewash. On February 6, 1898, a fire destroyed the interior. It was rebuilt, and the first mass was held there in December 1899. Stained glass windows from Austria-Hungary were installed in 1904. The diocese consecrated the cathedral in 1920, after it had paid off the construction debt.
October 2003
In October 2003 a man with a gun set the cathedra on fire
In October 2003 Stuart Vincent Smith walked into the cathedral carrying a firearm and set the cathedra and pulpit on fire. Monsignor William O'Neil confronted him at once and said he would strangle him if he did not drop the gun. The fire was quickly put out and police took Smith into custody. He later pleaded guilty to several felonies and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
“...said he would strangle him if he didn't drop the gun”
Monsignor William O'Neil, to the man with the gun, as the article tells it
The spires
The diocese began reinforcing the spires with steel in 2024
It was the first church building in Georgia constructed of brick, and it took over 90,000 copper nails and 45,000 slates to build. In 2012 the diocese discovered severe cracks in the steeples, caused by the 2011 earthquake in Northern Virginia. In 2024 it began a project to reinforce the spires, which decades of corrosion had weakened, with eight and a half tons of steel.
90,000copper nails went into the building, with 45,000 slates
Day 1, afternoon
It comes after Monterey Square. Then River Street.
More stories from this trip idea
The words are a retelling of the Wikipedia article Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist (Savannah, Georgia), and are shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. They are checked against those articles, and a fact that is not in them is left out.