Saint Mary's Cathedral is a Catholic cathedral

Cathedral

A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...

 located on Bo Aung Kyaw Street

Bo Aung Kyaw Street

Bo Aung Kyaw Street or Road, formerly Sparks Street is a major street , passing south-north through Kyauktada Township and Botataung Township in southern Yangon, Burma...

 in Botahtaung Township, Yangon

Yangon

Yangon is a former capital of Burma and the capital of Yangon Region . Although the military government has officially relocated the capital to Naypyidaw since March 2006, Yangon, with a population of over four million, continues to be the country's largest city and the most important commercial...

, Burma. The cathedral's exterior, of red brick, consists of spires and a belltower. It was designed by Dutch architect Jos Cuypers, son of Pierre Cuypers

Pierre Cuypers

Petrus Josephus Hubertus Cuypers was a Dutch architect. His name is most frequently associated with the Amsterdam Central Station and the Rijksmuseum , both in Amsterdam. More representative for his oeuvre, however, are numerous churches, of which he designed more than 100...

.

The cathedral is the largest in Burma. Construction began in 1895 and was completed 19 November 1899 under a land grant from the Government of India, whilst Lower Burma

Lower Burma

Lower Burma is a geographic region of Burma and includes the low-lying Irrawaddy delta , as well as coastal regions of the country ....

 was a province of British India. During the 1930 Rangoon earthquake St. Mary's Cathedral suffered little damage and it withstood the Japanese invasion during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. However, the cathedral's stained glass

Stained glass

The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...

 windows were damaged during the Allied invasion of Rangoon.
Located on the grounds of the cathedral is Basic Education High School No. 6, which is locally known as "Saint Paul

Paul of Tarsus

Paul the Apostle , also known as Saul of Tarsus, is described in the Christian New Testament as one of the most influential early Christian missionaries, with the writings ascribed to him by the church forming a considerable portion of the New Testament...

's High School", although it has no religious affiliation to the Catholic Church today.
The cathedral is listed on the Yangon City Heritage List

Yangon City Heritage List

The Yangon City Heritage List is a list of man-made landmarks in Yangon, Myanmar, so designated by the city government, Yangon City Development Committee. The list consists of 188 structures , and is largely made up of mostly religious structures and British colonial era buildings. The list is...

.