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St. James Catholic Church
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| Location: | 622 1st Ave., S. Jamestown, North Dakota |
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| Built: | 1910-1914 |
| Architect: | George Hancock |
| Architectural style: | Late Gothic Revival |
| Governing body: | Private |
| NRHP Reference#: | 82001346 [1] |
| Added to NRHP: | October 22, 1982 |
The Basilica of St. James is a parish church in the Catholic Diocese of Fargo and a Minor Basilica located in Jamestown, North Dakota, United States. It served briefly as a cathedral church in the 19th century. St. James Church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
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Catholics settled in the Jamestown area as early as 1872 but a parish was not established until the late 1870s.[2] The first Catholic church in Jamestown was dedicated by Bishop Martin Marty, OSB on May 13, 1883.
On November 10, 1889 Pope Leo XIII established the Diocese of Jamestown[3] and St. James became the cathedral church for the new diocese. This distinction was short lived as the See City was transferred to Fargo on April 6, 1897. Bishop John Shanley was the only bishop to call St. James his cathedral.
Bishop James O'Reilly consecrated the present church on November 29, 1914.[2] On October 26, 1988 Blessed John Paul II elevated St. James Church to the rank of a minor basilica. [4]
George Hancock designed the church in the Gothic Revival style. The foundation is rock faced, trimmed granite. The exterior walls are covered in Hebron brick and they are trimmed in Bedford stone. The building measures 140 feet (42.7 m) long, 50 feet (15.2 m) wide and 42 feet (12.8 m) high.[2] The transept is 70 feet (21.3 m) wide. The seating capacity of the church is 650 with another 100 able to fit in the choir loft.