Basilica of St. Peter (Columbia, South Carolina)

The Basilica of St. Peter, also known as St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church, is located at 1529 Assembly St. in Columbia, South Carolina.[2][3] This is the second building of the oldest Catholic parish in Columbia and the Midlands of South Carolina. On June 24, 2018, it was announced that the Vatican's Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments issued a decree granting Saint Peter's Catholic Church in Columbia the title ‘Minor Basilica.’ This makes the church the first basilica in South Carolina.[4]

Basilica of St. Peter
The Basilica of St. Peter in 2009
Location	1529 Assembly Street Columbia, South Carolina
Country	United States
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Website	www.visitstpeters.org
History
Status	Basilica
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Heritage designation	NRHP
Designated	1989
Architect(s)	Frank Pierce Milburn
Style	Gothic Revival
Groundbreaking	July 19, 1874
Specifications
Length	131 ft (40 m)
Width	79 ft (24.1 m)
Nave width	64 ft (19.5 m)
Spire height	163 ft (49.7 m)
Materials	Dark red brick with Bedford stone and terra cotta trim
Tenor bell weight	3,500 lb (1,591 kg)
Administration
Archdiocese	Diocese of Charleston
Clergy
Rector	The Very Rev'd Canon Gary S. Linsky
Priest(s)	Father JohnBosco Duraisamy
Deacon(s)	Deacon Brian Durocher Deacon David Thompson
Laity
Organist/Director of music	Jordan DeRouen
Director of music	Matthew DeGuire
Saint Peter's Roman Catholic Church
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location	1529 Assembly Street Columbia, South Carolina
Built	1908
Architect	Frank Pierce Milburn
Architectural style	Gothic
NRHP reference No.	89001610 [1]
Added to NRHP	September 28, 1989

An east view of the basilica

The St. Peter's Church was listed the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.[1]

The first resident Catholic priest came to Columbia in 1820. St. Peter's first church, designed by the South Carolina architect Robert Mills, was completed in 1824. This church was demolished in the early 1900s to build the new sanctuary.

The new church was designed by Frank Pierce Milburn, a Southern architect. The planning and fundraising was done largely by Father Thomas J. Hegarty. Construction started in 1906 and was completed in 1908. The dedication was in January 1909.

The Gothic Revival church was built with dark red brick with Bedford limestone and dull glazed terra cotta trim. The roof was Buckingham Slate. The spire is topped with a cross and is 163 ft (49.7 m) above grade.

The church has a cruciform plan with a high nave. It is 131 ft (40 m) long and 79 ft (24.1 m) wide. The nave is 64 ft (19.5 m) long and 51 ft (15.6 m) tall. The 3,500 lb (1,591 kg), 55 in (1.4 m) diameter bell was cast in 1911 by McShane Bell Foundry in Baltimore, Maryland.

The church graveyard is to the rear of the church.