The Old Cathedral, at 207 Walnut Street, in May 1934. Until demolition began five years later for the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, the church was surrounded by old buildings.

A worker hoists a bucket onto the roof of the Old Cathedral on Sunday, April 14, 2019, after winds removed sections of roof early on Sunday. Photo by Colter Peterson, cpeterson@post-dispatch.com ...

Old St. Pat’s, as the first cathedral is colloquially known, then became a parish church until 2010, when it was declared a basilica by Pope Benedict XVI.

The outdoor cemetery at the Basilica of St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral is filled with 200-year-old gravestones. It’s part of a tour of the catacombs beneath the church.