Although it has fallen into decay, it remains a city landmark and a tourist attraction, and there are plans to restore the building in 2018.

[1][2] According to local tradition, the cathedral was built on the site near where Vasco da Gama tied his ships to a large tree while en route to India in 1498.

[3] The church's construction began under Governor Baltasar Manuel Pereira do Lago, but stopped after his death.

[2][4] It was completed in 1786 and dedicated as the Church of Our Lady of Liberation (Portuguese: Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Livramento).

[4] On 3 August 1943, it was declared a national monument of Portuguese Mozambique, for its historical significance to Zambezia Province, and especially Quelimane.

[5] Over the years, church officials made efforts to restore the cathedral, but were unable to raise the necessary funds.

[1] On 19 November 2017, Bishop Hilário da Cruz Massinga estimated the total cost of the restoration project at €500,000.

[1] The last to be buried in the church was Father Francisco, a Goan priest, born in 1820, who arrived in Quelimane in 1845.