In 1978, both the National Capital Commission and the City of Ottawa officially recognized the Notre Dame Cathedral Basilica of Ottawa as an historic monument. The cathedral is indeed the oldest surviving church in Ottawa. It stands on the site that was occupied by the first Catholic chapel open to both anglophones and francophones of Bytown.
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In 1847, the poor mission church was prematurely transformed into a cathedral, the seat of the first Bishop of Bytown, Most Reverend Joseph-Eugène-Bruno Guigues, O.M.I. With the growth of the diocese under the second Bishop of Ottawa, Most Reverend Thomas Duhamel, and with the impetus of a visionary artist, Canon Georges Bouillon, the cathedral was finally completed in 1885. Dedicated to the Immaculate Conception in 1853, Notre Dame Cathedral was elevated to the status of basilica in 1879.