Previous structures When
Pierre Laclède and
Auguste Chouteau established the city of St. Louis, they dedicated a plot of land west of Laclède's home for the purposes of the Catholic Church. The earliest Catholic records suggest that a tent was used by an itinerant priest in 1766, but by 1770 a small log house was built on the site. This building, consecrated by the Reverend Pierre Gibault, an itinerant priest, on June 24, 1770, was expanded in 1776 to include a log church. In spite of a more substantial structure, no priest permanently resided in the village of St. Louis until 1811. These buildings began to be replaced in 1818 with a brick structure, on the orders of the Bishop
Louis William Valentine Dubourg. The brick structure was designed by Gabriel Paul. During Dubourg's tenure as bishop, many artifacts, paintings, and an organ were donated to the church. While the brick church was under construction, a cemetery was established near the building, in which many of the founders of St. Louis were interred. Construction of the brick church was not complete until 1821.
Construction In 1826, population growth prompted the establishment of the
Diocese of St. Louis. The first bishop of the St. Louis diocese,
Joseph Rosati, began construction of a new cathedral, now the Basilica of St. Louis, King of France, to mark this growth. The cornerstone of the church was laid by Rosati during a ceremony on August 1, 1831. The church was designed and built by the architectural firm of Laveille and Morton, among the first architectural firms west of the Mississippi River north of
New Orleans. Construction was complete by late 1834. On Sunday, October 26, 1834, the cathedral was consecrated at a ceremony featuring the local militia and parishioners. The tradition of care for the poor and needy was carried on in the early 20th century after the appointment of the Reverend John Tannrath to head the church on September 5, 1915. Tannrath not only refurbished the rectory and church, but also reestablished a parish school for local immigrant children. He arranged care for disabled children and adults.
Recent history Again due to the growth of the city, a larger church was consecrated in 1914 farther west of the current church, in the city's
Central West End neighborhood. This larger church, the
Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis, continues to serve as the seat of the
archbishop of St. Louis. To recognize the original cathedral's significance, on January 27, 1961,
Pope John XXIII designated it a
basilica, giving it the present name, the
Basilica of Saint Louis, King of France. Shortly after, in 1963, the church was renovated by the prominent St. Louis architectural firm Murphy and Mackey. In 2015, the Basilica underwent a restoration, including: • Repaired exterior limestone and sandstone • Replaced the mullioned windows with energy efficient yet historically accurate glass in the original Gothic design • Repaired the steeple, roofs, and gutters • Restored the front doors • Upgraded the parking lot, entrance pavers, and landscaping • Renovated the interior vestibule • Removed all carpet, leaving and repairing the wood floors • Restored decorative
millwork and statuary. The current parish serves the needs of local parishioners, described as "few in number but strong in loyalty", along with working people and tourists. However, because of its location along the Mississippi River and near the Gateway Arch (which provide backdrops for wedding photos) the church is often used for weddings, only ranking behind
St. Francis Xavier College Church at
Saint Louis University in the number of Catholic marriages in the archdiocese. ==Design and artifacts==