Diocese of Savannah history

1873Cornerstone is LaidThe Right Reverend William H. Gross, C.Ss.R., laid the cornerstone of the new Cathedral on November 19, 1873.

Also in 1880, the Sisters of Mercy opened an infirmary on Baker Street, later becoming Saint Joseph Hospital.

1896Spires and Stucco are AddedThe Right Reverend Thomas A. Becker completed the Cathedral with the building of the spires in 1896.

1898Fire Ravages CathedralA devastating fire on February 6, 1898, destroyed all of the Cathedral but the outside walls and the two spires.

The rebuilding began immediately, and the seventh bishop of Savannah, Benjamin Keiley, celebrated the first mass in the rebuilt Cathedral on December 24, 1899.

The rebuilt Cathedral was dedicated October 28, 1900, by the apostolic delegate to the United States, Archbishop Sebastian Martinelli.

1920Cathedral is ConsecratedFollowing the retirement of the church’s debt, which was a requirement for consecration at that time, Bishop Keiley was able to preside over the solemn consecration of the Cathedral in 1920.

In 1936, the Diocese of Savannah-Atlanta was established along with the Cathedral of Christ the King on Peachtree Street.

The Diocese was re-named Diocese of Savannah-Atlanta in 1937, with a cathedral in each city.

The Diocese of Atlanta was established in 1956, separating the northern 71 counties of Georgia from the Diocese of Savannah.

A basilica must “stand out as a center of active and pastoral liturgy,” according to the 1989 Vatican document Domus ecclesiae.

On Tuesday, October 18, 2011, Gregory John Hartmayer was ordained and installed as the fourteenth Bishop of Savannah in the Cathedral Basilica of St John the Baptist.