The French administration established the church, which was first called the State Cathedral because of its funding. A wooden church had its first stone laid in 1863. Bishop Isidore Colombert laid the first stone of the cathedral on October 7, 1877, and it was blessed on April 11, 1880. J. Bourard, the successful bidder, supervised construction. The cost was 2.5 million French francs. The infobox gives Romanesque revival.
Materials were imported from France, including wall bricks from Toulouse, and tiles from Marseille. Two bell towers were added in 1895, and each is about 189 feet (57.6 m) tall, though the introduction says 58 meters. The total height to the cross is 60.5 meters.
It became a basilica in 1962. A renovation began on June 29, 2017. It is the cathedral of the Archdiocese of Saigon.
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