US-5444101 Cathedral of St John Baptist in Savannah, Georgia, USA

The Cathedral of St. John the Baptist is a Roman Catholic church located in Savannah, Georgia, USA. 

French Catholic émigrés established Savannah’s first parish, called the Congrégation de Saint Jean-Baptiste, shortly before the end of the 18th century. They came to Savannah in the aftermath of an uprising in Haiti.

The congregation constructed its first church on Liberty Square in 1779 and in 1811, chose a site on Drayton and Perry Streets for a larger building. Bishop John England of the Diocese of Charleston, which encompassed Savannah, consecrated the new church on April 1, 1839. Pope Pius IX established the Diocese of Savannah in July 1850 and the congregation began to plan for a new cathedral on Lafayette Square in 1870 under Savannah's fourth Bishop, However, the brick structure lacked spires which were not added until 1896 when it also received a coating of stucco and whitewash.

On Sunday evening, February 6, 1898, the Cathedral caught fire and was nearly destroyed. Thousands watched as the building burned. Only the outside walls and the two spires remained standing afterwards; the bishop’s residence was spared. 

The congregation quickly rebuilt the church and was able to celebrate Christmas Mass in the new facility in 1899. But again, the structure was not complete and interior decoration took an additional 13 years. Stained glass windows were installed around 1904.  The parish undertook subsequent renovation projects in 1959-1965, which addressed heating, cooling and lighting systems and decoration and in 1984-1985, to reinforce structural foundations and implement changes mandated by the Second Vatican Council.  The cathedral was worked on again in 1998-2000 to install new roofing, and to restore the original interior colour palate and decorations.

This postcard came from Susan (Postcrossing, 25 July 2018).