[2] In 1979, the Cathedral of St. Joseph was included as a contributing property in the Asylum Avenue District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Pope Gregory XVI in 1843 erected the Diocese of Hartford, encompassing the states of Connecticut and Rhode Island.

Because Providence, Rhode Island had a larger Catholic population, Bishop William Tyler chose to reside there instead of Hartford.

Bishop Francis McFarland in 1872 petitioned the Vatican to create a separated diocese for Rhode Island.

[2] McFarland hired the architect Patrick Keely, a designer of many churches in the United States, to lay out the new cathedral.

After Bishop Lawrence McMahon liquidated the diocese's debt, he was able to complete the first Cathedral of St. Joseph, which he consecrated on May 8, 1892.

[4] The interior featured an inlaid ceiling with imported wood, a rotunda lined with gold leaf and 72 stained glass windows.

[2] The archdiocese in 1957 chose the architectural firm of Eggers & Higgins from New York City to design the present cathedral.

[2] Auxiliary Bishop John Hackett blessed the lower level of the cathedral on December 24, 1960, and O'Brien celebrated the first mass there later that night.

[4][6] On October 31, 2020, the cathedral hosted the beatification mass for Reverend Michael J. McGivney, who founded the Knights of Columbus in 1882.

The stone blocks used in the tall spire are cut in a pattern of voids that causes a constant play of light and shadow.

The interior of the cathedral has a large array of stained glass windows from France; they are similar to those found in Sainte-Chapelle in Paris.