San Fernando Cathedral

History & Significance

Cathedral · Est. Parish founded 1731; original church dedicated 1755

San Fernando Cathedral in San Antonio, Texas, traces its origins to a parish established in 1731 by Canary Island settlers who founded the villa of San Fernando de Béxar. The original stone church, begun in 1738 with master stonemason Gerónimo de Ibarra and dedicated in 1755, was greatly enlarged and reconstructed (1868-1873) under architect François Giraud. In 1874 Pope Pius IX erected the Diocese of San Antonio and designated the church its cathedral; it now serves as the mother church and archbishop's seat of the Archdiocese of San Antonio.

Spanish Colonial core with Gothic Revival additions (twin towers, buttresses) from the 1868-1873 reconstruction

• •Mother church and seat of the Archbishop of the Archdiocese of San Antonio
• •Parish founded in 1731 by Canary Island colonists; among the oldest active cathedrals in the United States
• •Designated a cathedral in 1874 when Pope Pius IX erected the Diocese (later Archdiocese) of San Antonio
• •Listed on the National Register of Historic Places (1975)
• •Contains a tomb said to hold remains of defenders killed at the Battle of the Alamo