Jacksonville, Fla. – The Catholic Foundation of the Diocese of St. Augustine, presented Father Tom Willis, rector of the Cathedral Basilica in St. Augustine, a check for $100,000 for the Rejoice & Restore Campaign – a $300,000 multiphase renovation project of the Cathedral.

“The Cathedral Parish is very grateful to Bishop Felipe Estévez and the Catholic Foundation for this grant,” said Father Willis. “To have the Cathedral as one of the three primary funding goals for the foundation this year is a blessing. The need for historic preservation and maintenance on the Cathedral are many and this money will go a long way to fully funding the first phase which includes painting the church’s exterior.”

The Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine is the oldest parish of a permanent European settlement on the North American continent north of Mexico. Throughout its history, the church experienced many challenges from being razed, burned, reconstructed and once again destroyed in a great fire, before it was rebuilt and reopened with a bell tower in 1888.

Architecturally, the church remained virtually intact up to the major renovation in 1965. The newly renovated Cathedral was dedicated on March 9, 1966.  

On Dec. 4, 1976, Pope Paul VI raised the edifice to the dignity of a Minor Basilica. It was the 27th American church to be honored as such by the Holy See. As a testament to its historic national significance, the Cathedral Basilica was named a National Historic Landmark.

The mission of the Catholic Foundation is to support ministries and clergy of the Diocese of St. Augustine by encouraging stewardship, philanthropy and the growth of perpetual endowment.