The project of its construction, which was carried out by a commission that brought together representatives of the clergy and lay members of the upper middle class such as fr:Charles Kolb-Bernard, had a twofold objective.

Its construction, which spanned nearly a hundred and fifty years, began in 1854 with the laying of a foundation stone and the launch of an international competition for the design of a building inspired by the "Gothic style of the first half of the 13th century".

It was completed in 1999 by the installation of a modern facade, designed by architect Pierre-Louis Carlier and engineer Peter Rice,[1] with part of the initial programme having been abandoned.

The same pontiff on 25 October 1913, via the papal bull Consistotiali Decreto, split the Archdiocese of Cambrai to create the diocese of Lille, with the basilica serving as its new cathedral.

The cathedral owes its name to a statue of the Virgin Mary, known as Our Lady of the Treille, which was housed at the Collegiate Church of St. Peter from the beginning of the 13th century and has since been the object of devotion and veneration.

[10] After the destruction of the Collegiate Church of St. Peter, which had been badly damaged during the Austrian siege of 1792 before being demolished in the French Revolution,[11] the statue largely fell into oblivion.

The Diocese of Cambrai covered, in effect, two distinct linguistic areas, with Flemish the majority language in the north-west, due in part to the heavy immigration from nearby Belgium.

[18] From a financial perspective, the growing population was anticipated to provide a substantial income to a new diocese, while the expenses of the creation would fall primarily on the state.

The commission brought together representatives of the clergy and the industrial bourgeoisie of Lille, who strongly supported the creation of a new bishopric, and soon began to think of the planned church as a future cathedral.

[17] An international competition was launched in 1854 for the design of the church, which was to be inspired by the Gothic style of the early 13th century, and the first stone was laid on the first of July 1854 by the Archbishop of Cambrai, in the course of the celebration of the feast of Our Lady of Treille, drawing large crowds including the mayor and ten bishops.