	Cardinal Charles Lavigerie laid the first stone for a church on 7 November 1881, a little further down Avenue de la Marine (now Avenue Habib Bourguiba). This was a pro-cathedral; the cathedral of the archdiocese (then called Carthage) being the Saint Louis Cathedral. The pro-cathedral was built quickly, but its condition soon deteriorated due to the adverse ground conditions, necessitating the construction of the current cathedral.