It was built in a mix of Romanesque and Gothic styles during the episcopacy of Jean de Châtillon (1146-1163) on the site of an ancient church founded in the 7th century.

The cathedral suffered damage during World War II when the steeple toppled onto the Sacred Heart Chapel.

Historical records of the rocky outcrop on which Saint-Malo stands show that a hermit called Aaron d'Aleth founded a hermitage there towards the middle of the 6th century.

A Welsh monk called Maclow or Mac Law or Malo arrived to the rock and joined Aaron.

This church, burnt by Charlemagne's lieutenants in 811, was rebuilt in 816 by bishop Hélocar and was given the name of the deacon saint Vincent d'Espagne who had been martyred in 304 by Diocletian.

In the middle of the 9th century, the Breton king Nominoë nominated Aleth as the location of the episcopacy and called it "Pagus Alethensis".

In this period, the ecclesiastical authority dominated the town but by the beginning of the 13th century, the Dukes of Brittany started to plot to retake Saint-Malo Cathedral.

[1][2] Several elements of de Châtillon's 12th-century building remain today including part of the cloisters, the nave, and the transept crossing.

At the base of the chevet is a chest containing the relics of a 2nd-century martyr Saint Célestin, given by the pope Pius VII to Saint-Malo's last bishop Monseigneur Courtois de Pressigny.

The wooden statue titled "Notre-Dame de la Croix du Fief" dates to the 17th century.

[citation needed] The bronze high altar in the cathedral was consecrated on 8 December 1991 and was the work of the painter Arcabas and Étienne Pirot.

On the north side of the building, there is a 1970 stained glass window by Jean Gouremelin and Michel Durand which depicts Paul Aurélien, Tugdual, Corentin, Malo, Guillaume, Samson and Patern.

This 15th-century marble statue is greatly venerated by the people of Saint-Malo and is also known as the "Miraculeuse Protectrice de la Cité Malouine", as it was associated over the years with various legends and miracles.

A copy was made and is still kept in the defensive wall niche [11][12][13] Several of the capitals of the pillars supporting the roof of the nave and transept crossing have carvings that are both grotesque and biblical.

The cathedral holds the tomb of the French explorer Jacques Cartier who was born in St Malo on 31 December 1491 and died there on 1 September 1557.

Privateer and St. Malo native René Duquay-Trouin was initially buried in the Saint-Roch church in Paris but his remains were moved to Saint-Malo on the three hundred year anniversary of his birth.

In August 1858, Napoleon III and Empress Eugénie were passing through Saint-Malo and were persuaded by Abbé Jean-François Huchet to finance the addition of an arrow to the tower spire which would be visible from the sea.

The tower has four bells: The city of Saint Malo suffered much bombing and artillery fire by both Germans and Americans during fighting in early August 1944.

Shells fired from a German minesweeper on 6 August decapitated the cathedral steeple which toppled onto the Sacred Heart Chapel causing huge damage.

On 21 May 1972, after twenty-eight years of work, a ceremony was held to celebrate the completion of the cathedral's restoration which had been masterminded by Raymond Cornon and Pierre Prunet, the then official architects for historic monuments.