St. Peter's Cathedral Basilica, London

St. Peter's Cathedral Basilica, located at 196 Dufferin Avenue, in London, Ontario, Canada, is the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of London.

History

The parish now known as St. Peter's was established 10 August 1834 and the first church was constructed of logs at the southwest corner of Dufferin Avenue and Richmond Street. Prior to this, a travelling priest visited the area to celebrate Mass for Catholic residents. The church was dedicated to St. Lawrence and could hold 180 people. It was destroyed along with much of the town in the London fire of 11 April 1845.

A larger frame church was built with donated materials and labour, but this church also burned in August 1850. This was replaced by a new St. Lawrence Church constructed of brick. The new church was located at the northeast corner of Dufferin and Richmond, just in front of the present structure. This land was granted by the Crown to Bishop Alexander Macdonell of the Diocese of Kingston. The cornerstone for the new church was laid 29 June 1851, on the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul.

The Diocese of London was created in 1856 and Bishop Pierre-Adolphe Pinsoneault selected St. Lawrence as his cathedral renaming the church St. Peter's. In 1859, Bishop Pinsoneault moved the see to Windsor where it remained until 1868 when Bishop John Walsh, Pinsoneault's successor, moved it back to London.

Bishop Walsh felt that the diocese should have a cathedral that was a true...
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