Construction began on the church with the corner stone being laid on Aug 28th 1870. It began it's liturgical life in 1894, attaining parish status in 1904 and in 1919 was designated as a Cathedral-Basilica. It is pretty much a scaled down version of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.

Originally known only as St. James the Greater, the Mary Queen of the World was added on in 1955. A majority of the text inside the cathedral describes St. James as a result.