The Cathedral Basilica of Saint James is the cathedral church of the Diocese of Brooklyn. It is located at the corner of Jay Street and Cathedral Place in Downtown Brooklyn, New York City.Remigius Lafort, S.T.D., Censor, The Catholic Church in the United States of America: Undertaken to Celebrate the Golden Jubilee of His Holiness, Pope Pius X. Volume 3: The Province of Baltimore and the Province of New York, Section 1: Comprising the Archdiocese of New York and the Diocese of Brooklyn, Buffalo and Ogdensburg Together with some Supplementary Articles on Religious Communities of Women.. (New York City: The Catholic Editing Company, 1914), p.534. It was built in 1903 and designed by George H. Streeton in the Neo-Georgian style.
Pope John Paul II issued the Pontifical decree Prima inter Civitatis which raised the shrine to the status of Minor Basilica on 6 May 1982.
History
The first church was built in 1822-1823 and dedicated to the patronage of St. James by Bishop John Connolly on August 28, 1823. It became the cathedral of Brooklyn when the diocese was established in 1853.
Brooklyn's first bishop, John Loughlin planned a new cathedral dedicated to the patroness of the diocese, the Immaculate Conception and its construction started in 1868 in Fort Greene, at Green Street and Clermont Avenue. The cornerstone for the new cathedral was laid, and the walls built to a height of 10 to 20 feet before construction was stopped due to inadequate funds; of the planned complex, only a chapel (no longer extant) and the Bishop's residence (now LaSalle Hall of Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School) were completed.New York Landmarks Preservation Commission "Fort Greene Historic District Designation Report" (September 26, 1978) In 1896, Louglin's successor Bishop McDonnell designated a St. James Cathedral a pro-cathedral, anticipating the completion of Immaculate Conception. Although the current church on the original site was built in 1903, it did not become a cathedral again until 1972. The newly elected Pope John Paul II visited in 1979, and formally designated it as a basilica in 1982.
While officially the cathedral for the diocese, many major ceremonies are held at larger churches because of St. James' small size. Accordingly, St. Joseph's Church in Prospect Heights was named co-cathedral for the diocese in 2013.
The Rector of St. James' Cathedral Basilica is Father Bryan Patterson.
See also List of cathedrals in New York
References
External links St. James Cathedral Basilica official site Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn official site