The Bell Tower of St. Mary Basilica
St. Mary Basilica Archives
“I can assure you that neither in all the City of Rome nor in all America could you see its equal.”
From a letter to Bishop Chanche
25th of January, 1849 by
Raphael Canon Bertinelli
Agent of the Bishop in Rome
More slideshows from the Archives.
The Re-Interment service for John Joseph Chanche, S.S., first Bishop of Natchez was held at the Basilica of Saint Mary in Natchez, Mississippi on January 19, 2008.
Bishop Chanche died in 1852 in Frederick, Maryland, after attending the First Plenary Council in Baltimore. He was buried in the Cathedral Cemetery in Baltimore in 1852 and removed to the new Baltimore Cathedral Cemetery in 1878. His remains were exhumed on August 8, 2007, and arrived in Natchez on August 17, 2007, for re-interment.
View the slideshow.
Bishop Chanche died in 1852 in Frederick, Maryland, after attending the First Plenary Council in Baltimore. He was buried in the Cathedral Cemetery in Baltimore in 1852 and removed to the new Baltimore Cathedral Cemetery in 1878. His remains were exhumed on August 8, 2007, and arrived in Natchez on August 17, 2007, for re-interment.
View the slideshow.
In preparation for the November 2, 2008, Feast of All Souls, St. Mary Basilica Archives committee came across church announcements from 1861:
“November 1st, the feast of All Saints. In the afternoon, the congregation gathered at the old Catholic cemetery, chanted vespers for the dead, processed to the new section reciting the litany of the saints, and then blessed the cross in the new section.”
The announcement expresses the origin of the annual procession in the Natchez City Cemetery.
View the slideshow.
“November 1st, the feast of All Saints. In the afternoon, the congregation gathered at the old Catholic cemetery, chanted vespers for the dead, processed to the new section reciting the litany of the saints, and then blessed the cross in the new section.”
The announcement expresses the origin of the annual procession in the Natchez City Cemetery.
View the slideshow.

