St. Vincent Basilica

History & Significance

Basilica · Est. Church built 1891–1905; dedicated August 24, 1905; named a minor basilica in 1955

Saint Vincent Basilica is the archabbey church of Saint Vincent Archabbey, the first Benedictine monastery in the United States, founded in 1846 by monk Boniface Wimmer in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. Designed by German-American architect J. William Schickel, the church was built between 1891 and 1905 and dedicated on August 24, 1905, by Bishop Regis Canevin of Pittsburgh. Pope Pius XII raised it to the rank of minor basilica in 1955. As a parish it lies within the Roman Catholic Diocese of Greensburg, while the monastic community traces its roots to the first Catholic parish west of the Alleghenies (1790).

Romanesque Revival, designed by architect J. William Schickel

• •Archabbey church of Saint Vincent Archabbey, the first Benedictine monastery in the U.S. (founded 1846 by Boniface Wimmer)
• •Built 1891-1905 and dedicated August 24, 1905, by Bishop Regis Canevin of Pittsburgh
• •Designated a minor basilica by Pope Pius XII in 1955
• •Serves as a parish within the Roman Catholic Diocese of Greensburg, Pennsylvania
• •Located at the site of the first Catholic parish west of the Allegheny Mountains, with roots to 1790