St. Mary's Cathedral Church is one of the famous religious as well as tourist places in Jalandhar. The Old Church was constructed by Rev. Fr. John Macodnnel in 1947, in the memory of St. Patrick. In 1955, the Catholic Mission of the Indian Punjab was raised to the status of Apostolic Prefecture, with its headquarter at Jalandhar. The church in the city subsequently became the Cathedral or the Mother Church of Punjab. The demolition of the Old Church began on 15th February, 1987. In 1987, the foundation for the New Church was laid.The foundation stone of St. Mary's Cathedral Church was blessed by His Holiness Pope John Paul II in February 1986 and was laid by His Excellency Rt. Rev. Dr. Symbhorian Keeprath Bishop of Jalandhar Diocese on 19th April, 1987. The roofing of the basement, the balcony and the main church were done on 19th September, 19th November and 19th December, 1987 respectively. The church was looked after by various chaplains appointed to Jalandhar, from the Diocese of Lahore. The design of the Church reflects the unique cosmo-culture of the Punjabi tradition of the state.
St. Mary's Cathedral Church has been designed in a way to highlight the secular character of our motherland. Special importance was given to the architecture of the church, so that it reflected the secular character of the country. The New Church was blessed by His grace Archbishop Jose Sanchez, the special delegate of Pope John Paul II from Rome and inaugurated by His Grace Archbishop Agostino Cacciavillan, the Vatican Ambassador and the Apostolic pronounced to India on 29th October 1989 - Diwali. On this occasion, Archbishops and Bishops representing different regions of India were also present.
