History

    The site of the cathedral was originally the residence of the Viceroy of Guangdong and Guangxi Provinces in the Qing Dynasty. During the Second Opium War, the residence was completely destroyed and Viceroy Ye Mingchen was captured by the British. Based on the terms of an edict issued by Emperor Daoguang in February 1846 which promised compensation for churches destroyed and properties taken from the mission, the Société des Missions Etrangères de Paris obtained the site by signing an agreement with the Qing government on January 25, 1861. In his decree of approval, Emperor Xianfeng  wrote "from now on, war should be stopped and peace be sincerely kept forever".

    With financial support from Emperor Napoleon III and donations from French Catholics, bishop Philippe Fran?ois Zéphirin Guillemin, M.E.P. , the first vicar apostolic of Guangdong, was in charge of the construction project. A French architect from Nancy, Léon Vautrin, was asked to design the cathedral, in collaboration with Hyacinthe-Charles Humbert, also from Nancy, and Antoine Hermitte from Paris who together served as architects of execution. Bishop Guillemin himself didn't see the completion of the cathedral. He died at the age of 72 in Paris in 1886, two years before the cathedral was finished. The construction was then under supervision of his successor, bishop Augustin Chausse, M.E.P. .