Our Lady of Fair Haven Cathedral has a very rich history.  Earlier on, upon the present day historic site, stood an even older wooden church built by the French priest Fr. Guillaume Martel O.P. Constructed in 1730, it was christened L’Eglise de NOTRE DAME de BON PORT on Christmas Eve 1730. It measured 40 x16 feet and was oriented in an east-west direction, the sanctuary being in what is now the presbytery garden. It was used until the end of the eighteenth century when it became unfit for the house of God and too small for the use of the faithful. In 1799 the central section of what is now the present Cathedral was started and after stops and starts by various Priests, Fr. Mignon took over the project  continuing the construction of the church. The edifice was successfully completed in 1839 by a local contactor Mr. Francis Giraud. During the Years of Construction Mass was celebrated in an old presbytery transformed into a chapel on the spot that now St. Yves house the present residence of the Christian Brothers on Turkey Lane.

Many improvements and extensions were made in the succeeding years. These included the work of Fr. Antoine Alexander Capoulade who in 1845 launched work on the enlargement of the church with the addition of the two side aisles. Huge pillars of iron-wood prepared in Colihaut were transported to Roseau to help in its construction. In 1854, Bishop Monaghan, first Bishop of Roseau, initiated the construction of the main steeple, which was made from cut stone brought down from Salisbury. The local contractor, Mr. Thomassin Aubrey, placed the cross in position on the steeple on March 1st 1855. The indigenous peoples of Dominica (the Caribs) also made a significant contribution to the Cathedral’s construction. In 1865, with the encouragement of their parish priest, Fr Poujade, FMI, they felled the required number of Simabruba trees and converted them into planks and timber transporting them to Roseau. Camping on the outskirts of Roseau, within three months they were able to completely ceil the nave.

In 1873 Bishop Poirier made the addition of what was then known as the St. Joseph Chapel to the east of the Cathedral. Bishop Poirier was extremely fond of St Joseph and the concept of the Holy Family. The chapel and crypt below it were solemnly blessed on March 19, 1873. A commemorative plaque in French dedicating the Chapel as an organization of the Antilles, is placed on the wall, as well as one commemorating the attendance of Bishop Poirier to Vatican Council I in Rome as Bishop of Roseau in 1869-1870.

In 1879 The Very Rev. Father Auguste Fort, FMI, built a small steeple on the northeastern end of the Cathedral. This added to the grandeur and majesty of the Cathedral and an inscription commemorating a Jubilee is inscribed on it.

In 1907 the whole flooring was replaced and twelve massive stone pillars put in to replace the iron-wood pillars. This was commissioned by Bishop Schelfhaut, C.Ss.R., who envisaged the building of another tower so that the whole church would be balanced. In 1915 the cut and squared stones of an old church tower in Pointe-Michel were transported to Roseau and used in the construction of the West tower of the Cathedral which was completed in June 1916. Now completed, the edifice measuring 167 feet in length, 98 feet in breadth and 30 feet from floor to ceiling, was consecrated by Bishop James Moris in 1925.

The Cathedral houses numerous works of art and priceless artifacts. These were introduced by the various Bishops of the See of Roseau but were mainly gifts of the Dominican Catholic congregation individually and collectively as well as overseas benefactors.

Among these are the magnificent main altar of pure white marble adorned in front by high relief statuettes in solid brass of St. Peter and St. Paul, Apostles, and the four Evangelists installed during the Episcopal administration of Bishop Monaghan. An ornate tabernacle in the shape of a cathedral, which was mounted on the altar, is of solid brass magnificently worked and 18 feet high. Two other altars of pure marble built by Bias and Noirot of 72 Rue Bonaparte, Paris, adorn the side chapels. The beautiful mahogany pulpit complete with sounding board overhead and built in Cayenne, French Guiana, was a gift of the Emperor Napoleon III of France to Bishop Poirier of Roseau in 1864.

Two large murals painted as backdrops to the Sacred Heart and blessed Virgin side altars depict the flight of The Holy Family to Egypt and the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. The paintings were done by Brother Ildephonse, C.Ss.R of Belgium in 1907.

Fourteen stations of the Cross, the frames beautifully carved in oak, date back to 1884. The pictures are printed on ornamented copper; in 1984 these were restored by a French artist after hurricane David.

Four large sized bells occupy the tower, ringing harmoniously in G minor, each named after a saint. Two of them called St. George and St. Joseph were consecrated on December 21, 1873 and installed during the episcopate of Most Reverend Poirier who commissioned the bells from the founders MEARS & STAINBANKS, Founders of LONDON. , and the other two the St. James bells were consecrated in 1934. These four bells were a gift of the congregation.  A fifth bell, blessed on February 9, 1986 and installed on February 12, 1986, is a gift from Colmar in the Diocese of Strasbourg, France; Fr. Charles Vermeulen, C.Ss.R. was the intermediary between the donors, Fr. Feltin, a French priest, who led the team that installed and electrified the bells and the Diocese who received the gift.

Besides pealing for service, the four bells announced the approach of natural disasters. A three-faced clock installed in the tower dates back to 1925. The whole clock-work mechanism is a wonder of engineering. It chimes the hours of the day. Both the clock and the bells are maintained free of charge by Mr. Alvin Giorgi with additional funds donated by individual parishioners concerned with hearing the melodious Angelus chime. Mr. Hubert Joseph a local contractor and business man dedicates his free time to the winding of the clock on a daily basis and must be commended for his selfless devotion.

The pipe organ, installed in the choir loft of the Cathedral, is a rare gem in the class of French romantic organs being one of the few of its kind in the entire western hemisphere. Built by Louis Debierres & Co., of Nantes, France, it was commissioned in 1882 by Bishop Michael Naughten, the 4th Bishop of Roseau, with the advice of Mr. D.C. Burton, the organist. It arrived in Dominica in December 1882 and was installed on January 1883. The organ, which was damaged by hurricane David had not functioned for several years until it was repaired in 1984 by a diocesan priest of Gent, Belgium Reverend Herman van de Walle who was invited here on the initiative of Fr. Charles Vermeulen, C.Ss.R., then Dean of the Cathedral. Except for the bellows which is now electronically operated, the organ is said to be in its original condition as designed by its builder, despite certain restorations undertaken in 1998 by a French team brought here by the efforts of Monsignor John Lewis, then Dean of the Cathedral, together with a group of dedicated Catholics including Messers Gerry Aird, Norman Letang, Cedric Phillip and Hubert Joseph, who were determined to save the one hundred and twelve year old organ. It was rededicated on August 16th of the same year.

The Cathedral houses numerous beautifully stained glass windows. Comparing favourably with the finest in Europe they were installed by Bishop Naughten in 1883. These depict the Saints after which the parishes are named, and also include representations of the Sacred Heart, Our Lady Of Lourdes, the discovery of Dominica by Christopher Columbus, The Harbour of Roseau into which a ship is safely entering with the Cathedral conspicuous in the background and a picture of the Virgin and Child looking from above. These windows were presented to the church partly by individual members of the congregation and partly by subscription. The likeness of all but one past Bishop of the See of Roseau is displayed in beautiful round stained glass, some bearing information about the deceased. Bishops Monaghan and Vesque grace the East and West doors whilst Bishops Poirier, Naughten, Schelfhaut, Moris, and Boghaert grace various sites to the north, northeast and northwest of the church. Some of these windows, were destroyed by the Hurricane of 1979 and were replaced. The present stained glass windows in the sanctuary, a joint project of Bishop Boghaert and Fr. Charles Vermeulen, were among those replaced after damage by hurricane David.

A crypt housing the remains of the various Bishops of the see of Roseau (with the exception of Bishops Monaghan and Boghaert), and other faithful priests, lie beneath the East Chapel. Bishop Moris who died in 1957 was the last prelate buried there. In the yard of the church reside the remains of several priests of the parish of Roseau and other Catholics. Dedications were made to the deceased on marble slabs and are at the entrance to the East door. One such slab dates to 1769. Most dedications have been erased by the millions of footsteps over the years by the faithful entering the door on their way to Eucharistic celebrations.

The Cathedral was badly damaged in 1979 by hurricane David and repairs and renovations were made to the roof, but the Church is now desperately in need of major repairs to the entire structure. Water damage and termites have taken their toll and threaten the preservation of the rare original paintings and other irreplaceable historical artifacts. It is estimated that the restoration of the Cathedral will cost in excess of $2.5 million EC dollars. Fund raising will extend over a period of two years maximum, whilst architects and engineers study ways and means to best re-roof the Cathedral. It is hoped that there will be minimal damage during the restoration of the Cathedral to its former beauty. Special care will have to be taken with the priceless paintings and stained glass windows and it is envisaged that for a period of time the faithful will have to worship in another building as in the early 1800’s.