Basilica Shrine of St. Mary (Wilmington, North Carolina)

The Basilica Shrine of Saint Mary is a Catholic minor basilica, diocesan shrine, and parish church in Wilmington, North Carolina, United States. It belongs to the Diocese of Raleigh. The present Spanish Baroque church, designed by Spanish architect Rafael Guastavino and completed in 1911, is notable for its self-supporting brick-and-tile vaulting and dome. The church served as a pro-cathedral for the Catholic jurisdiction in North Carolina before the establishment of the Diocese of Raleigh. It was designated a diocesan shrine in 2005 and was granted the title of minor basilica in 2013. St. Mary's is a contributing property in the Wilmington Historic District, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.

The history of the parish dates to the early nineteenth century, when John England, bishop of the Diocese of Charleston, periodically visited Wilmington and celebrated Mass for the city's small Catholic population in private homes and, on occasion, Protestant churches. England's successor, Bishop Ignatius A. Reynolds, formally established the Wilmington parish on January 1, 1845. The Rev. Thomas Murphy was appointed its first resident priest. In 1846–1847 Murphy oversaw construction of St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church on Dock Street, the first Catholic church in Wilmington. In 1868, James Gibbons, the newly appointed vicar apostolic of North Carolina, took up residence in Wilmington, and St. Thomas became his pro-cathedral. Gibbons later became archbishop of Baltimore and a cardinal. Gibbons invited the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy from Charleston to Wilmington in 1869. The sisters established a convent and began a Catholic school, beginning a long association between the parish and Catholic education in Wilmington.

By the beginning of the twentieth century, the congregation had outgrown St. Thomas. Plans for a larger church were developed under the pastor, Monsignor Christopher Dennen, on parish property at South Fifth Avenue and Ann Street. Ground was broken on May 20, 1908. Leo Michael Haid, O.S.B., the vicar apostolic of North Carolina, laid the cornerstone. The church was designed by Spanish-born architect Rafael Guastavino, whose patented tile-vaulting system had been employed in numerous major American buildings. Guastavino died in February 1908, and construction was carried forward by his son, Rafael Guastavino Jr. The first service in the new church was held on December 17, 1911. Cardinal James Gibbons returned to Wilmington and dedicated the building as St. Mary Pro-Cathedral on April 12, 1912. When the Diocese of Raleigh was established in 1924, St. Mary's ceased to function as a pro-cathedral and became St. Mary Church. The episcopal see was established in Raleigh.

The earlier St. Thomas church was initially expected to be demolished after St. Mary's was constructed. Instead, in 1911–1912, Katharine Drexel, founder of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, provided funds for its acquisition for the use of Wilmington's African-American Catholic community. The Josephites assumed responsibility for St. Thomas in 1916. A separate Catholic school for Black children also operated in association with the parish. Catholic schools in the Diocese of Raleigh were desegregated during the 1960s. A major fire damaged St. Thomas in 1966, after which the St. Thomas and St. Mary congregations were merged. St. Thomas was later deconsecrated and became the present-day Saint Thomas Preservation Hall.

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