From 1924 to 2017 Sacred Heart Church on Hillsborough Street served as Raleigh's diocesan cathedral. The parish was established in 1879; ground was broken for this building in 1922 and it was completed two years later. In 1924, when the Apostolic Vicariate of North Carolina was elevated to the Diocese of Raleigh, Sacred Heart Church became the diocesan cathedral, a role it served from 1924 to 2017.
In 1978 this church and the other parish buildings were included as contributing properties in the Capitol Area Historic District listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Sacred Heart is also the location of the Cathedral School, formally called Sacred Heart Cathedral School. Behind the church is the rectory, completed in 1917; the convent that once housed Dominican sisters was completed in 1927; and the school building was completed in 1938.
While the buildings differ in style, they each feature irregular rough hewn ashlar stone, giving the complex a unified, tactile presence. Imagine generations arriving here since 1879, teachers and sisters, parishioners and diocesan gatherings. The church, the rectory behind you, the convent, and the school building form the whole stone ensemble before you.