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As the Bishop's
church, St. James is the host of diocesan events and celebrations and is also the home parish to several
hundred people.
In 1822, Brooklyn’s streets were just beginning
to be lit by gas. Lincoln was a 13-year-old student, and the
11-year-old Franz Liszt made his debut as a piano prodigy. It
was just a year after the deaths of Napoleon and St. Elizabeth Ann
Seton. Pius VII was the pope, and James Monroe was our president.
The total population of Brooklyn was less than 12,000 people.
During that year, Peter Turner organized a group of about 70 people to petition for a parish church in
Brooklyn. By August of 1823, St. James Church was built and blessed; religious services were begun
on the very spot where St. James Cathedral stands today. In 1853, when the Diocese of Brooklyn was established,
and Bishop John Loughlin appointed as its first bishop, St. James served as the seat of the Bishop of
Brooklyn and remains so today.
 As the
cathedral parish, St. James is a center of year-round activity,
hosting diocesan events and special occasion celebrations. In
addition to diocesan celebrations, St. James is also the home to a
small but
vibrant parish community.
The parish started out with 70 people,
and now averages between 150 and 200 people for Sunday Masses at
the downtown facility. But even though it's small in number, it is a
very alive place.
 The cathedral is one
of just a few parishes that provide sign-language interpreters at
Sunday Mass. The interpreters also stay for a social hour
after Mass to facilitate communications with other parishioners. In
conjunction with Catholic Charities, St. James parish offers RCIA
and other sacramental classes in sign.
St. James is prominent as
a parish of "firsts." It had the first parish school in the
church basement and had the first high school --- St. James Academy
--- which later moved to Clermont Ave.
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