About the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Augustine in Saint Augustine, Florida:
The site where the founding of St. Augustine occurred is now the Mission Nombre de Dios. There the first Mass of the new settlement was celebrated. Menéndez’s expedition carried with it four diocesan priests who ministered to the first settlers. What would become the eventual city of St. Augustine would be started south of that site and the first parish church of which we have record would be built at the southeastern corner of today’s Plaza. Spanish Franciscans came to evangelize the Indians.
St. Augustine was pillaged and burned to the ground (including the parish church) in 1586 by the English corsair Francis Drake. The citizens rebuilt their city and church, To help thwart off any future attacks, a stone fortress, Castillo de San Marcos, was begun in 1672 and completed in 1696. This allowed the town to survive a siege by Carolina Governor James Moore, who attacked and burned St. Augustine in 1702. Again, the parish church was destroyed. Mass was celebrated thereafter in the chapel of La Soledad Hospital, until 1763, when Florida was ceded to Great Britain as part of the First Treaty of Paris concluding the French and Indian War.
In 1786, the Spanish crown ordered the construction of a new parish church for St. Augustine. The property bounded by St. George Street on the west, Treasury St. on the north and the plaza to the south was chosen as the site. The cornerstone was laid in 1793.
On April 12, 1887, a fire that started in the St. Augustine Hotel eventually spread to the Cathedral. Bishop John Moore, the second Bishop of St. Augustine, made a national appeal for funds to help in its rebuilding. The addition of transepts allowed for the restored church to be enlarged. At the same time, the bell tower was built.
Traveling to the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Augustine in Saint Augustine, Florida:
Physical Address:
38 Cathedral Place
St. Augustine, FL 32084
Mailing Address:
35 Treasury Street
St. Augustine, FL 32084
Tel: +1 (904) 824-2806 Fax: +1(904) 824-0761
Email: cathparish@gmail.com