Built on the plan of a basilica with its nave and two lateral aisles separated by two rows of columns, the cathedral has a façade of neo-classical style designed by Italian architect Giuseppe Maggiore.

At the rear, in the choir, is the cathedra (bishop throne) of the Archbishop of Beirut, and the chair used by Pope John Paul II during his pastoral visit to Lebanon in 1997.

[5] Inspired by the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome, Saint George Maronite Cathedral was built between 1884 and 1894, and inaugurated by Bishop Youssef Debs.

Badly damaged during the Lebanese Civil War (1975–1990), the cathedral was completely rehabilitated by 1997, recovering its original Renaissance cruciform shape.

According to the archbishop, the reduction in the campanile's height to stand equal to that of the minarets of the adjacent Mohammad Al-Amin Mosque aims to send a message of interfaith solidarity and harmony.

The cathedral also suffered from a damaged pitched roof where bricks were broken or misplaced and exposed cracks became visible in beams and marbling paints.

After the explosion, volunteers took prompt actions such as cleaning the place, mobilizing furniture as well as sorting the damaged elements and organizing the undamaged ones.

Fortunately, despite the endless destructions the cathedral had been struggling with, there is always someone taking care of this historical and spiritual place and bringing back its main significant symbol of the presence of the Maronites in the Capital of Lebanon and their expansion throughout the Lebanese territory.