It is the oldest congregation of any religious denomination in Alabama and the Mississippi River Valley, established in 1703.
The Old town of Mobile (La Mobile) and Fort Louis de la Louisiane were constructed by French settlers in the year 1702. The site was located at Twenty-Seven Mile Bluff, the present day Le Moyne, Alabama on the Mobile River in the Mobile-Tensaw River Delta. The settlement served as the Capital of French Louisiana from 1702 to 1711. The capital was shifted to the present day site in the year 1711.
At its peak, Old Mobile (La Mobile) had a population of approximately 350 inhabitants occupying between 70 and 100 structures.
When the city of Mobile was relocated to its present site in 1711, the Parish Church was rebuilt on the west side Royal Street, just north of Conti Street, under the patronage of Our Lady of Mobile. It was in 1781, in Mobile’s Spanish period, that the parish received its present title “Church of the Immaculate Conception.”
The present church, built in 1835-50, is the third parish church built by Bishop Michael Portier when he became the First Bishop of Mobile in 1829. The portico was added in 1870, the Bell tower in 1890 and the stained glass windows in 1910. The Cathedral was designated as Minor Basilica by Pope John XIII in 1962.
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| Cathedral-Basilica of the Immaculate Conception |
History of the Cathedral:
The Old town of Mobile (La Mobile) and Fort Louis de la Louisiane were constructed by French settlers in the year 1702. The site was located at Twenty-Seven Mile Bluff, the present day Le Moyne, Alabama on the Mobile River in the Mobile-Tensaw River Delta. The settlement served as the Capital of French Louisiana from 1702 to 1711. The capital was shifted to the present day site in the year 1711. |
| Portico |
At its peak, Old Mobile (La Mobile) had a population of approximately 350 inhabitants occupying between 70 and 100 structures.
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Pipe Organ
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Fort Louis de la Louisiane served as the political, military and religious center of the settlement. The fort housed the residence of Bienville, the Governor, his officers and soldiers as well as a chapel and several other structures.
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Tablet embedded in
memory of the first Pastor, Rev. Henry R de la Vente
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It was in this chapel, the first Catholic Parish on the Gulf coast was established in 1703, one year after the founding of La Mobile and Fort Louis de la Louisiane, by John Baptiste de la Croix, the Bishop of Quebec. Rev. Henri Roulleaux De la Vente was canonically installed as the first pastor of the church of Fort Louis de la Louisiane (Mobile).
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Altar
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When the city of Mobile was relocated to its present site in 1711, the Parish Church was rebuilt on the west side Royal Street, just north of Conti Street, under the patronage of Our Lady of Mobile. It was in 1781, in Mobile’s Spanish period, that the parish received its present title “Church of the Immaculate Conception.”
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| Stained Glass windows |
The present church, built in 1835-50, is the third parish church built by Bishop Michael Portier when he became the First Bishop of Mobile in 1829. The portico was added in 1870, the Bell tower in 1890 and the stained glass windows in 1910. The Cathedral was designated as Minor Basilica by Pope John XIII in 1962.
