From the Archives
By Mary Woodward
One of the main liturgical events during Bishop Francis Janssens’ tenure (1881-1888) as Bishop of Natchez was the consecration of St. Mary Cathedral now St. Mary Basilica. The construction of St. Mary was begun under Bishop John Joseph Chanche, first bishop of the diocese, in February 1842. For more than 40 years, the building of the original cathedral was carried out. It had been blessed, but it had never been consecrated according to the solemn rites. Church custom at that time was a church would not be consecrated until it was debt free.

At times during these 40 years, construction stalled, bank foreclosure loomed, and cows roamed freely in it. Even under the long term of Bishop William Henry Elder, the church had a debt. It was under Bishop Janssens that the debt was paid and on Sept. 19, 1886, the cathedral was consecrated.
A friend and fellow history lover and I were talking the other day about the beauty of the English language during the 19th century, so I will let the melodic phrasing of Brother Celestin, a Sacred Heart Brother and teacher at Cathedral School in Natchez describe the events of the day:
“At an early hour Sunday, Sept. 19th, 1886, the Feast of the Seven Dolors of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Rt. Rev. Bishop of the Diocese, Francis Janssens, assisted by many of the diocesan clergy, began the consecration of the Cathedral and its main altar.
“Within the altar-stone was placed a tin box enclosing the relics of the martyrs, Sts. Victor, Innocentus and Celestinius and a parchment thus inscribed in Latin: ‘In the year, 1886, the 19th of September, I, Francis Janssens, Bishop of Natchez, have consecrated the Church and this altar in honor of the Transfixed Heart of the ever blessed and immaculate Virgin Mary, and have enclosed the relics of Martyrs and have granted in the usual form of the Church, an indulgence of one year this day and on each anniversary of the consecration an indulgence of forty days to all the faithful of Christ visiting the Church’.
“At half past ten o’clock a procession was formed at the Episcopal residence, headed by Cross-bearer and Acolytes, and followed by all the children of the schools and asylums with their banners and oriflammes, all the priests who had assisted at the Synod, the Rt. Rev. Bishops O’Sullivan of Mobile, Becker, of Savannah, the Ordinary of the Diocese, the Most Rev. Archbishop of the Province, Mgr. Leray of New Orleans, and the venerable Archbishop Elder, of Cincinnati, formerly of Natchez, who was to officiate at the Pontifical Mass.
“The church was crowded with Catholics and non-Catholics, many of whom came from a distance, and the desire to witness the grand ceremonies was so great that fully 1,250 persons admitted by tickets filled the sitting and standing room of the spacious building.
“After the Gospel, the Rt. Rev. T. A. Becker, of Savannah, ascended the pulpit, and choosing his text from that part of the I Book of Kings, descriptive of the dedication of the Temple of Solomon, said that many distinguished prelates some from contiguous dioceses and some from afar had come to form with them a triple alliance to show veneration and regard for this august ceremony, to venerate and respect the sublime ceremonial of the church that they had just witnessed, which the more it is studied the more admired, and lastly to congratulate them on the perfection of the grand work done under their auspices and of those who rule over them in the Lord.
“The Catholic Church, he said, was One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic. One in her essence and unity, Holy in her doctrines and truth, Apostolic because she can trace her descent and priesthood back to the unlearned men who received the divine commission, ‘Go, teach ye all nations.’ Had anyone lived four centuries or a thousand years ago he could have been nothing but a Catholic, for then there was no other religion. She is Catholic. She is not the Church of England, or France, or Germany or of the United States, but the Church of the living God and as such is reverenced by the greatest intellects of the age.
“In conclusion he hoped that the memory of this glorious day would ever be green, and that each recurring anniversary may bring down blessings from on high, and that each may say, ‘I believe in the One, Holy, Catholic, Apostolic Church.’
“In the afternoon, Most Rev. Archbishop Leray, of New Orleans, the last priest ordained in the Cathedral by Bishop Chanche, sang Pontifical Vespers. Before solemn Benediction, Archbishop Elder, in some feeling words, addressed the large congregation. He said ‘that he beheld a holy city decked like a bride going to meet her spouse.’ Such was this church to him.
“He spoke of the charity of many who had generously assisted in the works of zeal and benevolence. Let there be no limit to joy and to gratitude but let us not forget those that are gone; on such an occasion we remember the absent and the gaps made by death, but, said he, let us remember God loves our tears and that there is a place where all tears are wiped away. This consecration is an emblem of the Kingdom of Heaven. May all who are here present be gathered there at the end and may the dear departed not be wanting.
“With the evening Angelus Bell passed away the last ceremonies of the sacred Consecration leaving a church sanctified and holy and on the minds of the privileged beholders, a memory sweet enough to linger many a day.”
Tune in next time for more From the Archives.

(Mary Woodward is Chancellor and Archivist for the Diocese of Jackson.)