St. Columba Parish was founded in 1847, the year that Pope Pius IX established the Diocese of Cleveland, of which Youngstown was a part.

The parish added a convent for the Ursuline Sisters the same year and the copper-covered spires in 1927.

An 11 feet (3.4 m) statue of St. Columba by Joseph M. DiLauro of Detroit occupies a space at the southwest corner of the entrance.

The cathedral celebrated its first English-language Mass in 1964 while the Second Vatican Council was in session.

[1] Media related to St. Columba Cathedral (Youngstown, Ohio) at Wikimedia Commons