[1] The area's name was officially changed to San Pablo de los Montes in 1586, in honor of Paul the First Hermit.

[1] That same year, San Pablo became an independent parish, and the first church made of wood was constructed under the auspices of Augustinian priest Mateo Mendoza.

[2] The convent housed the Minor Seminary of St. Francis of Sales of the Congregation of the Mission (also known as Padre Paules) from 1912 to 1939.

[2] The church was used by the occupying Japanese forces as a military prison and garrison during World War II;[5] the convent was heavily damaged during the liberation of the Philippines in 1945.

[8] In 2015, the facade of the cathedral was restored to its original design sans the concrete crown added in the American period.