It stands on the northern slope of the Serail Hill, adjacent to Bab Idris, one of Beirut’s seven historic city gates.

[1][2] Capuchin missionaries, sent by Father Joseph du Tremblay, reached Saida in 1626 and Beirut in 1628, thus establishing the first houses of the Custody of the Near East.

A plot was reserved for the cathedral and its adjoining convent on the northern slope of the Serail Hill, next to Bab Idris, one of Beirut’s seven historic city gates.

[3] Duthoit had arrived to Beirut on 2 January 1862; he was at the time in the retinue of French diplomat and archaeologist Melchior de Vogüé in his archaeological mission headed to the Levant and Cyprus.

[5][6] Duthoit’s design incorporated local building materials and techniques, resulting in the church’s unique and eclectic architecture.

[8] The cathedral was lavishly decorated with extravagant gilded stucco and plaster murals, these embellishments were removed during the post-war restoration.