Qualla: Cathedral of Saint Vincent de Paul

Cathedral of Saint Vincent de Paul: Introduction

Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Eirik Newth, CC BY 2.0. The bell towers arrived thirteen years late. When the Cathedral of Saint Vincent de Paul opened on Christmas Day 1897, its twin towers remained unfinished -- the diocese had run out of money. The reinforced concrete towers were finally completed in 1910 using the Hennebique technique, a pioneering method that gave the cathedral an oddly modern skeleton beneath its historicist skin. Sitting at the Place de l'Independance where Avenue Habib Bourguiba meets Avenue de France, directly across from the French Embassy, the cathedral is an architectural argument in three voices: Moorish revival, Gothic revival, and Neo-Byzantine, all speaking at once. The result should be cacophony. Instead, it is one of the most distinctive buildings in Tunis.

Image: Eirik Newth | CC BY 2.0

Cathedral of Saint Vincent de Paul: Cardinal Lavigerie's Ambition

Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Nesrine KERKENI, CC BY-SA 4.0. The story begins on November 7, 1881 -- just months after France established its protectorate over Tunisia -- when Cardinal Charles Lavigerie laid the first stone for a church a short distance down what was then Avenue de la Marine. This was only a pro-cathedral; the true cathedr...

Image: Nesrine KERKENI | CC BY-SA 4.0

Cathedral of Saint Vincent de Paul: Three Styles, One Building

Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Rabeb Garbouj, CC BY-SA 3.0. The Moorish revival elements announce the cathedral's North African setting -- horseshoe arches and decorative tilework that echo the Islamic architecture of the surrounding Medina. The Gothic revival elements assert European ecclesiastical tradition, with pointed arches and ribb...

Image: Rabeb Garbouj | CC BY-SA 3.0

Cathedral of Saint Vincent de Paul: Faith After Empire

Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 3.0. The number of Roman Catholics in Tunisia dropped sharply after independence in 1956 as French settlers departed. A modus vivendi between the Republic of Tunisia and the Vatican in 1964 transferred several church properties to the Tunisian state for public use, including the Acrop...

Image: Bernard Gagnon | CC BY-SA 3.0