This building was located on the same site in the Terreiro de Jesus as the previous church, with the facade oriented to face the bay; however, this time the interior was a single nave.

Unfortunately, documents that record the definitive date or architect for this project do not survive, however, it is probable that the building was designed in Portugal, given the attention that the central government gave to the work of the diocese.

In a letter dated 1765, King Joseph I, offered Archbishop Dom José Botelho de Matos, the former Jesuit Church as a temporary site until the cathedral could be restored.

The destruction of these buildings allowed the extension of tram routes run by the Companhia Linha Circular de Carris da Bahia.

Some interior elements of the Old Cathedral were transferred to other Catholic institutions in Salvador; its silver altar was moved to the Convent of Saint Theresa (Convento de Santa Teresa), now the "Museum of Sacred Art of Bahia".

[1][7] In 1956, as homage to the religious and historical significance of the site, city officials erected a bronze bust of Dom Pero Fernandes Sardinha, first Bishop of Brazil and a supporter of the construction of the first cathedral.

In 1999, the sculptor Mário Cravo Júnior, erected a stainless steel sculpture Cruz Caída (Fallen Cross) to commemorate the destruction of the historic Cathedral.