Built at the corner of Saint-Denis and Sainte-Catherine streets, it was the city's first purpose-built cathedral.

At this point the diocese moved temporarily to the nearby chapel of the Sisters of Providence, before finally moving to a chapel on the current site of Mary, Queen of the World Cathedral, built in 1894,[2] which is also dedicated to St. James.

It was rebuilt by Victor Bourgeau by 1860, with an 85-metre spire added in 1876, a golden weathervane in 1905, and a transept in 1889.

It was burned out yet again in 1933 and quickly repaired by French monk and architect Paul Bellot.

[4] The patched-together building was purchased in 1973 by the Université du Québec à Montréal, and was demolished except for the spire and transept, classified as historic monuments.