St. Francis Xavier Cathedral and Library

The St. Francis Xavier Cathedral is a parish of the Roman Catholic Church in Vincennes, Indiana, under the Diocese of Evansville. Named for Francis Xavier, a 16th-century Jesuit apostle, it is located opposite George Rogers Clark National Historical Park at 205 Church Street, within the Vincennes Historic District.

Jesuit missionaries established St. Francis Xavier parish around 1734, making it the oldest Catholic parish in Indiana; its earliest parish records date from 1749. The present Greek Revival-style basilica church, built on or near the site of two earlier Catholic churches, dates from 1826. In 1834, when Pope Gregory XVI erected the Diocese of Vincennes, St. Francis Xavier was elevated to a cathedral and served as the seat of the episcopal see from 1834 to 1898. On 14 March 1970 Pope Paul VI elevated St. Francis Xavier Cathedral to the status of basilica , "an honor reserved for only the most historic churches."

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