Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist

The Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist is a Roman Catholic cathedral and minor basilica on Lafayette Square at 222 East Harris Street, Savannah, Georgia, in the United States. It is the Mother Church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Savannah.

The colonial charter of Savannah prohibited Roman Catholics from settling in the city. The English trustees feared that Catholics would be more loyal to the Spanish authorities in Florida than to the English government in Georgia, however this prohibition faded shortly after the American Revolution. The church's congregation was reorganized about 1796. French Catholic émigrés established the first church in 1799 after they fled Haiti after slave rebellions that began on the Caribbean island in 1791. It became the main church for free blacks from Haiti in the early 19th century. Construction began on the new Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in 1859. The structure was nearly destroyed by fire in 1898 but through diligent effort was rebuilt by 1899. The Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist was the first building in Georgia constructed of brick. It features 81 stained glass windows, 16 gargoyles, is 214 feet tall with a roof height of 96 feet, took over 90,000 copper nails and 45,000 slates to construct.

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