Location Saint-Louis Denomination Roman Catholic Church | Country Senegal | |
 | ||
The St. Louis Cathedral (French: Cathédrale Saint Louis) is an eighteenth-century cathedral located on the place d'armes in the southern district of Saint-Louis Island in the african country of Senegal.
It is the oldest church in West Africa. St. Louis Christians did not have a real church for many years. They gathered in several places within the fort, in the military hospital or individuals, such as John Thevenot houses, who was mayor from 1765 to 1778. British occupiers even got to prohibit the presence of the priests and all expression religious.
The recovery of the colony by the French in January 1817 changed the situation. On arrival at the island in 1822 Anne-Marie Javouhey, founder of the Order of Sisters of St. Joseph of Cluny, mother promotes construction of a true church. It is supported by the captain, Roger Baron, who laid the foundation stone on 11 February 1827. The stone was blessed by the apostolic prefect Girardon father. The building was open to the faithful the following year, passed on 4 November 1828. In Gore, the St Charles church in turn will be completed in 1830.