Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist, Savannah

The Cathedral Basilica of Saint John the Baptist in Savannah, Georgia, sits in the heart of the city and was constructed in the French Gothic style back in 1873. Many of the parishoners came from Haiti and France in the 1700s, so a French influence was natural.

St. John the Baptist

The church was only recently (2020) proclaimed a minor basilica. Churches are given the honorific "minor basilica" for historical and artistic worth as well as being a thriving center of pastoral and liturgical activity.

Notification outside

Visitors walk into the nave and immediately see the baptismal font. Carved from Carrara marble, the four-ton font has panels that mirror the original high altar in the apse.

Nave

Baptismal font

The Stations fo the Cross are wood carved from Munich, Germany.

Jesus comforts the women from Jerusalem

Jesus dies on the cross

The stained glass windows are also amazing. Dating from 1900, they were created in Innsbruck, Austria. The apse windows (over the main altar) depict John the Baptist's life. Other windows depict the life of Jesus and other scenes from the Bible.

John the Baptist windows

Resurrection window

Ascension window

Scene from the Book of Revelation

The cathedral also has many murals.

Pentecost

Musical angels

The main altar was installed in 2000 during renovations. The original high altar is in the back.

Main Altar

Pulpit

The Bishop's Chair is what gives the Cathedral its name. The Latin word for chair is "cathedra." The oak chair was installed in 1898.

Bishop's chair

As a basilica, the church has a tintinnabulum, a small processional bell on a pole, that would lead a papal procession. The umbraculum is a processional umbrella with the papal colors (red and yellow).

Tintinnabulum

Umbraculum

View from the main altar

The right side altar is dedicated to Our Lady, with a pieta, an icon, and the altar.

Our Lady's altar

The left side altar is the tabernacle, where the eucharist is kept.

The tabernacle

Just past the tabernacle is an altar to Saint Joseph which also holds the sacred oils for Anointing of the Sick, anointing catechumens, and the chrism used for Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Orders.

Saint Joseph Altar

The confessional is from Pittsburgh. The glass panels depict the barren desert of sin, the prodigal son, and the tree of life.

Confessional

View of the ceiling

The current organ was installed in 1987. Saint Cecelia, patroness of musicians, is in center of the Rose Window behind the organ.

The organ