[2] In September 1868, one acre of land was purchased by the Diocese from The Crown for £59, with the title being transferred into the name of Bishop Moran in 1871.

Despite the rigid foundations, the front of the cathedral started to suffer subsidence after fifteen years of being built.

A description of St Joseph's Cathedral from a letter of the reporter of the Auckland Evening Star in 1889 says, "The cable tram has carried you up barely two hundred feet when you see a double-towered church of dark grey stone standing on a site cut into the hill.

While it falls short of the original conception the building as it stands gives a better idea of the outstanding structure which was never completed.

[4] The cathedral has undergone several internal modifications, the most notable being the removal of the high altar after Vatican II; it was returned after a long sojourn in the Dunedin Public Art Gallery.

The 1896 Memorial Altar to Bishop Moran designed by Petre was dismantled in early 1970, and has since been made into a large tabernacle, kept in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel (former Nuns' Chancel) beside the sanctuary.

It was not until 1974 that precast concrete replicas of the 12 feet (3.7 m) pinnacles were made and put back into position by Downer and Co.

Originally, Bishop Dooley, along with Novatus Rugambwa, Apostolic Nuncio to New Zealand were also planning to be present at the Solemn Mass.

[6] The wings, having not properly dried in time for the Solemn Mass were reunited with the angels on Gaudate Sunday (17 December 2023).

This is the beach that Bishop Pompallier landed during his first visit to the south in November 1840, where he then conducted his first Baptisms for the region.

[8] The 14 Stations, designed in the Gothic style, were supplied by Mayer and Co., Munich, and were erected in the cathedral in October 1890.

[8] The main organ was purchased by Fr Delphin Moreau SM in 1866 for the first St Joseph's Church and built by George Fincham and Sons of Melbourne.

The plaque on the organ reads: "+ TO THE GLORY OF GOD + PRESENTED BY EDWARD HERBERT, IN LOVING MEMORY OF MAGDELENE, HIS WIFE.

As of 2023, the choir consists of around 15 members and is an affiliate of the Royal School of Church Music New Zealand (RSCMNZ).

[14][15] Other recent organists include: John Barker, Dr Kemp English, and Rachel Swindells.

[18] Squarise went public via the Otago Daily Times with the letter he received, which caused more division between himself and Church authorities.

[25][26] In 1889, a bluestone extension was built to accommodate older students in the newly established St Dominic's College.

[26] In 2020, the Priory was broken into, with intruders ransacking a flat and damaging historic paintings and other irreplaceable property.