Indeed, the cathedral was built as the biggest in eastern Africa by order of Cesare Maria De Vecchi, governor of Italian Somaliland who promoted the Christianization of Somali people.

In 1989, on the eve of the outbreak of the civil war in Somalia, the last Bishop of Mogadishu, Salvatore Colombo, was killed by armed insurgents while celebrating Mass in the cathedral.

[6] A BBC correspondent later visited the site in 2012 and reported that some internally displaced people had formed tent settlements on the cathedral grounds.

This was in stark contrast to the many new shops that had opened outside, where merchants, optimistic about the city's relative stability since the ousting of the insurgents, had begun to publicly advertise their wares again.

The correspondent also mentioned that although the cathedral had structurally incurred considerable damage by having its roof blown off among other things, its walls were still erect, its elegant stone arches still in place, and the general atmosphere was one of serenity.