The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption is an architectural surprise. This Mother Church of the Diocese of Kingstown is a proud testament to the struggles of Catholicism on the island. When the French arrived in the early 17th century, traveling Jesuit missionaries served the faithful on Saint Vincent and neighboring islands. The first permanent priests came in 1653. Tragically, they were murdered by the Caribs in 1701. They were replaced nine years later. However, the British expelled them in 1784 after defeating the French. Finally, in 1815, the first Catholic church was built here. The current St. Mary’s Cathedral was constructed during the 1930s.
