Minor Basilica of the Immaculate Conception

History & Significance

Basilica · Est. Parish founded 1728; present church begun 1857, completed c. 1900–1905; elevated to minor basilica 2009

The Minor Basilica of the Immaculate Conception serves a parish in Natchitoches, Louisiana, that traces its origins to 1728, making it among the oldest Catholic communities in the Louisiana Purchase territory. The present church, the seventh built for the parish, was begun in 1857 but, delayed by the Civil War and Reconstruction, was not completed until about 1900–1905; its interior furnishings were imported from France. It once served as the cathedral of the Diocese of Natchitoches (1853) until the see was moved to Alexandria in 1910. Pope Benedict XVI elevated it to a minor basilica on February 22, 2009; it now serves the Diocese of Alexandria.

19th-century brick masonry church with French-imported interior furnishings

• •Parish founded in 1728, among the oldest Catholic parishes in the Louisiana Purchase territory
• •Former cathedral of the Diocese of Natchitoches (est. 1853) until the see was transferred to Alexandria in 1910
• •Elevated to minor basilica by Pope Benedict XVI on February 22, 2009
• •Now a parish church in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Alexandria, Louisiana
• •Contributing property in the Natchitoches Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places on June 5, 1974