[1][2] Its original sanctuary, designed by William Rodrigue, was the scene of a panic on March 8, 1877, when someone shouted "Fire!"
Designed by Irish-born architect Patrick Charles Keely in a "Roman Basilica" style[1]—the church has a Neo-baroque exterior[4] with a façade of bluish-gray granite quarried from Monson, Massachusetts, by the W.N.
Flynt Granite Co.[5] The main entrance is sheltered by a arcaded portico.
The stained-glass windows in a pre-Raphaelite style[6] are by the Morgan brothers, frequent collaborators of Keely.
[7] A campaign for the extensive restoration and preservation of the church began in 2001 and was completed in 2010 under the direction of EverGreene Architectural Arts and Thomas A. Fenniman, architect.