St. James Basilica is a

Latin Catholic , native_name_lang = la , image = San Giovanni in Laterano - Rome.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , alt = Façade of the Archbasilica of St. John in Lateran , caption = Archbasilica of Saint Joh ...

parish church in the Diocese of Fargo as well as a

minor basilica In the Catholic Church, a basilica is a designation given by the Pope to a church building. Basilicas are distinguished for ceremonial purposes from other churches. The building need not be a basilica in the architectural sense (a rectangular ...

located in

Jamestown, North Dakota Jamestown is a city in Stutsman County, North Dakota, United States. It is the county seat of Stutsman County. The population was 15,849 at the 2020 census, making it the ninth largest city in North Dakota. Jamestown was founded in 1883 and i ...

, United States. A previous church building, completed in 1882, served briefly as a cathedral in the 19th century. The present church building was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1982 as St. James Catholic Church, and it was elevated to a minor basilica in 1988.

History

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settled in the Jamestown area as early as 1872, and the first Mass was celebrated in the town on January 10, 1879. As the congregation had no building to call its own for three years, they met in hotels, school buildings, and meeting halls. They also did not have a pastor so they were served by visiting clergy. Father Flannigan became the parish's first pastor in 1882. He raised $6,000 to build a frame church that measured , and a small

rectory A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of religion. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, parsonage, rectory or vicarage. Function A clergy house is typically ow ...

next door. They were completed in June 1882. Anton Klaus, a prominent Jamestown citizen, donated the block on which the buildings were built. It was dedicated by Bishop

Martin Marty Martin Emil Marty (born on February 5, 1928) is an American Lutheran religious scholar who has written extensively on religion in the United States. Early life and education Marty was born on February 5, 1928, in West Point, Nebraska, and raised i ...

, OSB on May 13, 1883. On November 10, 1889

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-old ...

established the Diocese of Jamestown, and St. James became the cathedral church for the new diocese. Bishop John Shanley was installed as bishop. He established St. John's Academy, added a sacristy to the cathedral, renovated the rectory, and convened the first Catholic Congress of the Dakotas in 1891. The later was an annual meeting to aid the Native Americans in North Dakota. Shanley found running the diocese from Jamestown difficult and moved to Fargo in 1891. He had the Cathedral of St. Mary built there and the See City was transferred to Fargo on April 6, 1897. By the early 20th century it became obvious that a new church was needed. Under the direction of the Rev. Edward J. Geraghty and Michael Murphy, a local banker and contractor who led the building committee, the

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of Fargo designed a new church in the

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

style. Jeff Shelde from

Litchfield, Minnesota Litchfield is a city in and the county seat of Meeker County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 6,624 at the 2020 census. History Immigration to the county was slow until the St. Paul, Minneapolis and Manitoba Railroad, later the ca ...

was chosen as the contractor. The groundbreaking took place in 1910 and it took four years to build the church. Bishop James O'Reilly consecrated it on November 29, 1914. A major building program took place from 1956 to 1958. A new and larger rectory was designed by the

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

architectural firm of Hills, Gilbertson and Hayes. The basement of the church was transformed into a parish hall and the interior of the worship space was updated. The renovation included a new paint scheme and simplified altar furnishings. On October 26, 1988

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

elevated St. James Church to the rank of a minor basilica. Bishop James S. Sullivan presided at the dedication liturgy on July 23, 1989. The Apostolic Brief, which raised St. James to the basilica status, is located near the southwest entrance into the church building.

Architecture

The basilica is a cross-shaped structure that measures and at the

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building withi ...

. The building itself is high and the twin towers that flank the main facade are . The spires on the towers are capped with 23 carat gold-leaf crosses. The foundation is rock faced, trimmed

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...

. The exterior walls are covered in Hebron brick and they are trimmed in

Bedford stone Indiana limestone — also known as Bedford limestone in the building trade — has long been an economically important building material, particularly for monumental public structures. Indiana limestone is a more common term for Salem Limestone, ...

. The seating capacity of the church is 650 with another 100 able to fit in the choir loft. The

stained glass windows Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

that depict scenes from the life of Christ were installed by the

Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company PPG Industries, Inc. is an American Fortune 500 company and global supplier of paints, coatings, and specialty materials. With headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, PPG operates in more than 70 countries around the globe. By re ...

in 1918.

References

External links

St. James Basilica’s Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint James Basilica Jamestown North Dakota Religious organizations established in 1879 Roman Catholic churches completed in 1914 Basilica churches in the United States Churches in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fargo Gothic Revival church buildings in North Dakota Buildings and structures in Jamestown, North Dakota Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in North Dakota Tourist attractions in Stutsman County, North Dakota National Register of Historic Places in Stutsman County, North Dakota 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United States 1914 establishments in North Dakota