Glasgows first post-Reformation Catholic Church and an early example of Gothic revivalism. See its renewed splendour with stunning decor, artwork including Peter Howsons St. John Ogilvie and the addition of a cloister garden.

The Roman Catholic Church in Great Clyde Street is justly considered one of the finest ecclesiastical edifices in the city, and occupies a prominent site on the north bank of the river. The exterior is very ornamental, and is fitted up in a plain manner, unlike the general appearance of Roman Catholic churches. The designs were furnished by Mr. Gillespie Graham, architect, Edinburgh. (From Sketches of the History of Glasgow, 1847.)

This description of St. Andrews Cathedral shows the impact that the building of this Church had on the minds of the people of Glasgow . The driving force behind the building was a priest from the Enzie of Banff, Rev. Andrew Scott. He had been given the care of the Catholics of Glasgow in 1805 and was determined to build a Church that would serve the needs of the growing Catholic population of the city.

The foundation stone was laid in June 1814. On December 22nd 1816, Holy Mass was celebrated for the first time within its walls.For the first two centuries after the Reformation there was practically no Catholic presence in Glasgow, but by the end of the 18th century Glasgows industrial expansion was attracting many Catholic workers from Ireland and parts of the Scottish Highlands. Scotlands Catholic Hierarchy was restored in 1878, and Charles Eyre was named the first post-Reformation Archbishop of Glasgow. In 1884 the Chapter of Canons was re-erected and subsequently St. Andrews became the Cathedral of the re-established Archdiocese.

In 1947, with the establishment of the new Dioceses of Motherwell and Paisley, the Archdiocese of Glasgow recovered the metropolitan status which it had had before the Reformation and St. Andrews became a Metropolitan Cathedral.The Cathedral was restored by Archbishop Mario Conti and re-opened in April 2011.