Basilica Cathedral Museum

Basilica Heritage Foundation Inc.

The Basilica-Cathedral of St John the Baptist is the metropolitan cathedral of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada. The dream of Bishop Michael Fleming, it was built by Irish immigrants and the people of Newfoundland between 1838 and 1855, in the shape of a Latin cross. It was the largest building of its kind in North America at the time of its completion. It was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1984 and a Registered Heritage Structure by the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador in 1988 to recognize it as one of the earliest Romanesque revival structures in North America, and its central role as the spiritual and cultural home of the Roman Catholic people of Newfoundland and Labrador. In 1998 the Basilica Heritage Foundation was created, a registered Canadian Charity, to raise funds and undertake projects to preserve the fabric of the Basilica Cathedral National Historic Site of Canada, and ensure the continued beauty and sanctity of this most impressive cathedral church.