San Fernando Cathedral has functioned continuously as a place of Catholic worship since sixteen Canary Island families organized the parish on March 9, 1731, making it the oldest continuously operating religious community in Texas. Construction began under military commander Juan Antonio Perez de Almazan, with the cornerstone laid in 1738 and the church finally dedicated in 1755 after a 1748 viceregal grant brought skilled masons from Mexico. For nearly a century it served as San Antonio's only recognized church under Spanish and Mexican law, doubling as a civic gathering place for the whole community regardless of faith. The building was damaged during the Texas Revolution, Santa Anna flew his "no quarter" flag from its tower during the Alamo siege, and its roof later collapsed, before a Gothic Revival rebuilding by architect Francois Giraud (1868-73) gave it its present form; it was elevated to cathedral status in 1874. That layered use continues today: San Fernando remains an active parish drawing more than 5,000 worshippers to weekend Masses, and performs roughly 900 baptisms, 100 weddings, and 100 funerals annually, alongside daily prayer and candle-lighting. It also functions as San Antonio's civic and cultural heart, hosting concerts, an annual Good Friday Passion Play performed outdoors on Main Plaza, and near-constant tour groups, serving simultaneously as a working house of worship, a community refuge, and one of the city's most-visited historic landmarks.