Basilica of Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception (Norfolk)
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The Minor Basilica of Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception, located in downtown Norfolk is the oldest Roman Catholic parish community in the Diocese of Richmond. It is known locally as "The Mother Church of Tidewater Virginia."
The community began in 1791 as Saint Patrick Church (two years before the establishment of the United States hierarchy and twenty-nine years before the creation of the Richmond Diocese) with French Catholics fleeing the French Revolution and some of earliest Irish Catholic immigrants to the United States as its first members. St. Patrick's was the oldest parish in the Richmond Diocese.
The first church was built in 1842, but was destroyed by fire in 1856 only to be replaced by the present building in 1858. The church was rededicated under the title of the Blessed Virgin Mary of the Immaculate Conception in commemoration of the Marian dogma proclaimed in 1854 by Pope Pius IX.
As it was in the South, the church was segregated. Fr. Matthew O’Keefe permitted African American Catholics to sit in a portion of the choir loft assigned for their use. Local Know Nothings threatened him unless he instituted segregated Masses, which he refused to do. Thugs tried to intimidate white parishioners until Fr. O’Keefe obtained police protection. Diocesan records show that local Catholic families believed the Know Nothings ignited the fire that destroyed St. Patrick’s in 1856. The Assumption, a painting donated by Their Majesties, King Louis Philippe and Queen Amélie of France, fell victim to the flames. The Josephite Fathers arrived from Richmond in 1889 and by September of that year, Saint Joseph Black Catholic parish was founded with the Josephites serving as clergy to serve the spiritual needs of the Black community. Seventy-two years later, 1961, St. Joseph's was clustered with St. Mary. After an extensive renovation and restoration program, the newly renovated/restored edifice was rededicated on November 1, 1989. Today, St. Mary Catholic Church is ninety-nine percent African American. The parish supports St. Mary Academy, an inner-city school that provides a Christian education to hundreds of urban children, most of whom are non-Catholic. The parish also operates a soup kitchen and provides other outreach to Norfolk's poor and homeless. On the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the Church, December 8, 1991, Pope John Paul II proclaimed the Church of Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception a minor basilica, the only one in the Commonwealth of Virginia. In his proclamation, the Pope said, "Your black cultural heritage enriches the church and makes her witness of universality more complete. In a real way the church needs you, just as you need the church, for you are a part of the church and the church is part of you."
