Faith
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The Old Cathedral is the first Roman Catholic cathedral west of the Mississippi and the fourth church building to stand on this site. Completed in 1834, it became a hub of Catholic expansion in the West in the mid- to late-1800s, as American Indians visited here and missionaries traveled westward from here. Between 1826 and 1843, the Archdiocese of St. Louis included much of the land between the Mississippi River and the Pacific Ocean. The Roman Catholic Church has owned this site since the founding of St. Louis in 1764. The Old Cathedral is the oldest surviving building on the waterfront, withstanding the Great Fire of 1849, attempted arson, and the city's urbanization, and it remains an active parish.
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St. Louis, Missouri · United States
