Cathedral-Basilica of St. Augustine

The Cathedral-Basilica of St. Augustine is a part of the Cathedral Parish which is the oldest continuously active Catholic faith community in the continental United States.
It was founded in 1565 with a Mass celebrated by Father Lopez de Mendoza y Grajales, first pastor of this parish. The site of this original Mass is on the grounds of the Mission Nombre de Dios. The original church was built of coquina stone on the present site in the late 1790’s and became a Cathedral when the Diocese of St. Augustine was erected in 1870. The present façade is almost identical to the original. The Spanish Renaissance style bell tower, topped by steeple and gold cross was added in the nineteenth century. In 1976 the St. Augustine Cathedral was elevated to a Minor Basilica, by His Holiness Pope Paul VI.

ChurchFloridaSt. Augustinearchitecture