St. Francis Xavier Cathedral | |
---|---|
聖フランシスコ・デ・ザビエル司教座聖堂 | |
Location | Kagoshima |
Country | Japan |
Denomination | Roman Catholic |
The Cathedral of Saint Francis Xavier [1] (Japanese: 聖フランシスコ・デ・ザビエル司教座聖堂), also called the Xavier Church, is the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kagoshima (Dioecesis Kagoshimaensis カトリック鹿児島教区)[2] and seat of the diocesan bishop, currently Paul Kenjiro Koriyama. Located in Kagoshima, Japan, it was named for missionary priest Francis Xavier, who arrived there in August 1549[3] and founded a Catholic mission.
In 1908 the first stone church was built on the site in recognition of their missionary efforts, but was destroyed during World War II, being replaced by a wooden church in 1949 and the present church in 1999.[4] It was elevated to cathedral status in 1955 with the erection of the diocese by Pope Pius XII with the Bull Qua sollicitudine.