St. Raphael's Parish traces its origin to July 1833 when the first group of settlers gathered for Mass in the home of Patrick Quigley.

[4] Father Charles Felix Van Quickenborne, a Belgian Jesuit, organized them into a parish.

Father Quickenborne began planning for a church building, but left before the materials were assembled.

Father Charles Francis Fitzmaurice arrived in the area in 1834 and began working with the parish.

Bishop Loras encouraged both Irish and German immigrants to come to Iowa from the crowded conditions in the eastern United States.

Because of the crowded conditions, and because of the challenges of ministering to them, Bishop Loras granted permission for the Germans to form Holy Trinity parish in Dubuque.

In 1853 St. Patrick's Church was built 12 blocks north to serve as a second parish for Irish families.

Loras, however, made it a mission of St. Raphael's so he would not lose the income he needed to build a new cathedral.

[1] As the city's business district began to encroach on that location, Bishop Loras terminated the plan.

Despite his failing health, construction had advanced far enough that Bishop Loras was able to offer the first mass in the new cathedral on Christmas Day, 1857.

The original plans called for a 243-foot (74 m) tall tower and spire, however after construction began to complete it, cracks started to form on the front wall.

New entrances were cut into the sides of the tower and the main facade of the church building was covered with Portland cement and made to look like stone.

The interior was replastered, new Stations of the Cross were imported from Germany, a new gallery was installed in the rear of the church, and a large arch was cut into the tower to allow light from the lancet window to brighten what once was a dark nave.

[9] The frescos in the church were completed at this time by Luigi Gregori, artist in residence and professor at the University of Notre Dame who had previously worked at the Vatican, and his son Constantine.

New stained glass windows, whose openings in the nave had been lowered 2 feet (0.61 m), were imported from London and installed in 1889.

Also buried in the chapel is Archbishop Raymond Ettledorf - a local priest who became Nuncio to New Zealand and parts of Africa.

The addition contained new staircases that replaced the old outdoor stairs that originally led to the side entrances.

Also, the parish wanted to make some updates to the design which coincided with certain architectural and liturgical trends that were emerging in the Church at the time.

The Eucharistic Chapel was deconsecrated and remodeled into a gathering space for the parish and renamed the Cathedral Center.

The layers of varnish applied over the years to the woodwork were also removed, which was refinished to allow the light oak to show.

The archbishop's throne was replaced with a smaller, movable, less elaborate cathedra that allows him to directly face the congregation during Mass.

The remains of St. Cessianus were installed in the main altar during the first Mass held in the renovated Cathedral on November 23, 1986, celebrated by Archbishop Daniel Kucera, OSB.

This is in reference to the tradition in the early years of the Church when Mass was often celebrated over the tombs of saints and martyrs.

The bones of St. Cessianus, a second-century Roman martyr, constitute the Patronal Relic of the State of Iowa.

[1] The house features a low hipped roof, paired brackets on the eaves, simple window hoods, and an entrance canopy.

The ironwork detailing and the doors were originally on the mansion of A.A. Cooper, which was named Greystone and was torn down in the late 1950s.

The Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary arrived in Dubuque and started teaching in the parish school in 1843.