The Historic Roman Catholic Properties in Mobile Multiple Property Submission is a multiple property submission of Roman Catholic properties in Mobile

Mobile, Alabama

Mobile is the third most populous city in the Southern US state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest...

, Alabama

Alabama

Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...

 that were listed together on the National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

. The submission covers cemetery

Cemetery

A cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. The term "cemetery" implies that the land is specifically designated as a burying ground. Cemeteries in the Western world are where the final ceremonies of death are observed...

, church, convent

Convent

A convent is either a community of priests, religious brothers, religious sisters, or nuns, or the building used by the community, particularly in the Roman Catholic Church and in the Anglican Communion...

 and other religious properties that are historically or architecturally significant.

Mobile was founded as the first capital of the French colony

French colonial empires

The French colonial empire was the set of territories outside Europe that were under French rule primarily from the 17th century to the late 1960s. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the colonial empire of France was the second-largest in the world behind the British Empire. The French colonial empire...

 of Louisiana

Louisiana (New France)

Louisiana or French Louisiana was an administrative district of New France. Under French control from 1682–1763 and 1800–03, the area was named in honor of Louis XIV, by French explorer René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de la Salle...

 under the direction of Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville

Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville

Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville pronounced as described in note] Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville pronounced as described in note] Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville pronounced as described in note] (16 July 1661 – 9 July 1702 (probable)was a soldier, ship captain, explorer, colonial administrator, knight of...

. It was established by his brother, Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville

Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville

Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienvillepronounce] was a colonizer, born in Montreal, Quebec and an early, repeated governor of French Louisiana, appointed 4 separate times during 1701-1743. He was a younger brother of explorer Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville...

, in 1702 to gain control over France's Louisiana claims. Mobile’s Roman Catholic parish was established on July 20, 1703 by Jean-Baptiste de la Croix de Chevrières de Saint-Vallier

Jean-Baptiste de la Croix de Chevrières de Saint-Vallier

Jean-Baptiste de la Croix de Chevrière de St. Vallier was appointed to the see of Quebec as bishop in 1685 by Louis XIV. But, Blessed Pope Innocent XI was not granting any more bulls of investiture....

, as a parish of the Diocese of Quebec

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Quebec

The Archdiocese of Québec is the oldest Catholic see in the New World north of Mexico. The archdiocese was founded as the Apostolic Vicariate of New France in 1658 and was elevated to a Diocese in 1674 and an Archdiocese in 1819...

. It was the first Catholic parish established on the Gulf Coast of the United States

Gulf Coast of the United States

The Gulf Coast of the United States, sometimes referred to as the Gulf South, South Coast, or 3rd Coast, comprises the coasts of American states that are on the Gulf of Mexico, which includes Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida and are known as the Gulf States...

.

The Diocese of Mobile

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mobile

The Archdiocese of Mobile is a Roman Catholic archdiocese comprising the lower 28 counties of Alabama. It is the metropolitan seat of the Province of Mobile, which includes the suffragan bishopric sees of the Diocese of Biloxi, the Diocese of Jackson, and the Diocese of Birmingham in Alabama...

 was established in 1829, with Michael Portier

Michael Portier

Bishop Michael Portier was a Roman Catholic bishop and the firstBishop of Mobile. He immigrated to the United States in 1817....

 appointed its first bishop. During his thirty year tenure he began many of the projects that led to what remains of Mobile's Catholic architectural and historical legacy. He was responsible for the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception that still stands today and his own house

Bishop Portier House

The Bishop Portier House is a historic residence in Mobile, Alabama, United States. It sits diagonally across from the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, and faces Cathedral Square. It is owned by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mobile. The house, built circa 1834, is one of Mobile's best...

. He also founded Spring Hill College

Spring Hill College

Spring Hill College is a private, Roman Catholic Jesuit liberal arts college in the United States. It was founded in 1830 on the Gulf Coast in Mobile, Alabama, by Most Rev. Michael Portier, Bishop of Mobile, Alabama...

, the oldest Catholic college in the Southeastern United States

Southeastern United States

The Southeastern United States, colloquially referred to as the Southeast, is the eastern portion of the Southern United States. It is one of the most populous regions in the United States of America....

 and the third oldest Jesuit

Society of Jesus

The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...

 college in the United States. Catholicism remained the dominate form of Christianity in Mobile up until the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

. Protestantism grew in the city from then until World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, when more than 89,000 people, mostly Protestant, moved into the city to work for war effort industries. From that point on Catholicism was a minority, although still sizable, denomination

Christian denomination

A Christian denomination is an identifiable religious body under a common name, structure, and doctrine within Christianity. In the Orthodox tradition, Churches are divided often along ethnic and linguistic lines, into separate churches and traditions. Technically, divisions between one group and...

. The structures listed in this multiple property submission reflect the best preserved reminders of this Catholic legacy.

Resource Name	Also known as	Coordinates	City	County	Added	Notes
Catholic Cemetery	Stone Street Cemetery	30°42′32"N 88°4′25"W	Mobile Mobile, Alabama Mobile is the third most populous city in the Southern US state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest...	Mobile County Mobile County, Alabama Mobile County[p] is a county of the U.S. state of Alabama. Its name is in honor of a tribe of Indians, the Maubila tribe . As of 2011, its population was 415,704. Its county seat is Mobile, Alabama...
Convent and Academy of the Visitation Convent and Academy of the Visitation The Convent and Academy of the Visitation, properly known today as the Visitation Monastery, is a historic complex of Roman Catholic religious buildings and a small cemetery in Mobile, Alabama, United States. The buildings and grounds were documented by the Historic American Buildings Survey in 1937...	Visitation Monastery	30°41′38"N 88°5′38"W	Mobile Mobile, Alabama Mobile is the third most populous city in the Southern US state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest...	Mobile County Mobile County, Alabama Mobile County[p] is a county of the U.S. state of Alabama. Its name is in honor of a tribe of Indians, the Maubila tribe . As of 2011, its population was 415,704. Its county seat is Mobile, Alabama...
Convent of Mercy Convent of Mercy (Mobile, Alabama) The Convent of Mercy, known today as the St. Francis Place Condominiums, is a small complex of historic Roman Catholic religious buildings in Mobile, Alabama, United States. It consists of two buildings, the former convent and the former school...	St. Francis Place Condominiums	30°41′20"N 88°3′10"W	Mobile Mobile, Alabama Mobile is the third most populous city in the Southern US state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest...	Mobile County Mobile County, Alabama Mobile County[p] is a county of the U.S. state of Alabama. Its name is in honor of a tribe of Indians, the Maubila tribe . As of 2011, its population was 415,704. Its county seat is Mobile, Alabama...		Converted to residential units
Saint Francis Xavier Roman Catholic Church Saint Francis Xavier Roman Catholic Church (Mobile, Alabama) Saint Francis Xavier Roman Catholic Church, also known as St. Francis Xavier Church, is a historic Roman Catholic church building in the Toulminville neighborhood of Mobile, Alabama, United States. It serves as the parish church for St. Francis Xavier Parish in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of...		30°42′33"N 88°4′49"W	Mobile Mobile, Alabama Mobile is the third most populous city in the Southern US state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest...	Mobile County Mobile County, Alabama Mobile County[p] is a county of the U.S. state of Alabama. Its name is in honor of a tribe of Indians, the Maubila tribe . As of 2011, its population was 415,704. Its county seat is Mobile, Alabama...
Saint Joseph's Roman Catholic Church		30°41′23"N 88°3′14"W	Mobile Mobile, Alabama Mobile is the third most populous city in the Southern US state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest...	Mobile County Mobile County, Alabama Mobile County[p] is a county of the U.S. state of Alabama. Its name is in honor of a tribe of Indians, the Maubila tribe . As of 2011, its population was 415,704. Its county seat is Mobile, Alabama...
Saint Matthew's Catholic Church		30°39′46"N 88°3′28"W	Mobile Mobile, Alabama Mobile is the third most populous city in the Southern US state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest...	Mobile County Mobile County, Alabama Mobile County[p] is a county of the U.S. state of Alabama. Its name is in honor of a tribe of Indians, the Maubila tribe . As of 2011, its population was 415,704. Its county seat is Mobile, Alabama...
Saint Vincent de Paul Saint Vincent de Paul (Mobile, Alabama) Saint Vincent de Paul, now known as Prince of Peace Church is a historic Roman Catholic church building in Mobile, Alabama. It was designed by a local architect, James H. Hutchisson, in the Gothic Revival style. The current building was built in 1874 and dedicated on January 21, 1877...	Prince of Peace Church	30°40′56"N 88°2′42"W	Mobile Mobile, Alabama Mobile is the third most populous city in the Southern US state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest...	Mobile County Mobile County, Alabama Mobile County[p] is a county of the U.S. state of Alabama. Its name is in honor of a tribe of Indians, the Maubila tribe . As of 2011, its population was 415,704. Its county seat is Mobile, Alabama...