One of the first decisions Bishop Amadeus Rappe had to make in 1847 was regarding the construction of a Cathedral church in Cleveland . This church is where the bishop’s chair or “cathedra” is located. It represents teaching authority of the bishop and symbolizes the union of the local diocese with the Church of Rome. Cleveland ’s only parish, St. Mary on the Flats, was small and its location was inconvenient to the residential areas of the city. The pastor, Rev. Peter McLaughlin, had bought property in the May Woods section adjacent to Erie Street (now East 9th) in 1845. No building had begun on this site when Bishop Rappe arrived.

Cleveland ’s first bishop decided to use this site for the new Cathedral. Work was begun in 1848 with Patrick Charles Keeley as the architect. Keeley would become one of the premier church architects of the 19th century and the Cathedral of Saint John the Evangelist would be one of his first Cathedral designs. The cornerstone was laid on October 22, 1848 . Additional property was purchased and the first Mass was held in the temporary chapel of the Nativity on Christmas Day of 1848. During the week it housed a school. The Cathedral, built in a Gothic revival style, was completed in 1852. The extreme poverty of the Diocese forced Bishop Rappe to go on fund-raising trips to France, New York City, and other parts of Ohio to help finance its completion.