The Cathedral-Basilica of the Immaculate Conception
Posted by: 
Markerman62
N 30° 41.425 W 088° 02.756
16R E 399825 N 3395759
Located on Dauphin Street near South Claiborne Street, Mobile
Waymark Code: WM11VM7
Location: Alabama, United States
Date Posted: 12/23/2019
Views: 5
Side 1
The origin of this Cathedral was established on July 20, 1703, by Jean-Baptiste de La Croix de Chevrieres de Saint Vallier, Bishop of Quebec at Fort Louis de la Mobile, the city’s first permanent settlement. The Bishop also appointed Father M. Henri Roulleaux de La Vente as Pastor of the first formal church along the Mississippi Valley which extended from the mouth of the Mississippi to Canada. The missionary zeal of the early Catholic Jesuit priests accompanying Mobile’s founders brothers, Pierre Le Moyne, d’Iberville and Jean Baptiste Le Moyne, de Bienville was intrinsic to the religious development of Mobile, Alabama.
Side 2
The Cathedral Archives preserve the records of Mobile’s multicultural and diverse origin. The sacramental records began by the first pastor, M. Henri Roulleaux de La Vente date back to 1704, documenting the first baptisms, marriages, and burials of the French, Spanish, British, Native Americans, Africans, and Creole de Color in Mobile. Many documents are the only reference to eighteenth century African Slaves and are among the oldest on the Gulf Coast. Some documents are signed by Mobile’s founders, Pierre Le Moyne, d’Iberville and Jean Baptiste Le Moyne, de Bienville. The ceremonial placement of the Cathedral’s Cornerstone took place in the Catholic Graveyard on July 19, 1835.
Marker Name: The Cathedral-Basilica of the Immaculate Conception
Marker Type: Urban
Addtional Information::
Historic Mobile Preservation Society and the Dora Franklin Finley African-American Heritage Trail.
Date Dedicated / Placed: 2011
Marker Number: 3
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Visit Instructions:
Please post a photo of you OR your GPS at the marker location. Also if you know of any additional links not already mentioned about this bit of Alabama history please include that in your log.