The Basilica of Saint John the Baptist and Saint Peter Parish merged to form a single parish on July 21, 2024, but the stories of both communities begin in the 19th century.
The community of the Basilica of St. John the Baptist was formed in 1817, when the first Mass in Canton was celebrated under an oak tree standing on the Shorb property. The first church building was dedicated in 1824 and served the community for several decades. In 1867, it was clear that a new church had to be constructed to accommodate the rapidly growing population. The cornerstone for the building was laid on July 10, 1870. St. John’s opened a parish school in 1845, but it was shut after two years only to be revived in 1868 with the arrival of the Ladies of the Sacred Heart. In 1883 they were replaced by the Notre Dame Sisters as teachers in the school, who were in turn succeeded by Humility of Mary Sisters in the early 1920s. St. John High School opened in 1925 with an all-boys freshman class of 63 students, before merging with Mount Marie Academy in 1945 to form Central Catholic High School.
On June 19, 2012, the parish was elevated to the level of a minor basilica, which denotes churches with historic, architectural or liturgical importance.
Saint Peter Parish was formed by St. John’s German-speaking parishioners who wanted a parish of their own to preserve their native language. Their church was dedicated on August 29, 1847. The parish opened a school in 1860, staffed by lay teachers until 1883 when the Notre Dame Sisters arrived. The sisters staffed the school until the late ’90s, and the school eventually became part of the Holy Cross Academy—and eventually Stark County Catholic School System—serving pre-K to fifth- grade students. The parish needed a larger church thanks to the growth Canton was experiencing, and the new Gothic structure was dedicated on May 22, 1879, while a new school was opened in November of 1890. The church, noted for its beauty, was added to the National Register of Historic Places a century later in 1990. Servant of God Rhoda Wise was a notable member of the community.
The two communities started collaborating in 2010 and merged in 2024. The names of the parishes were not changed, thanks to the status of St. John as a basilica.
Description from The March of the Eucharist, 2nd edition (2025) published by The Catholic Echo
