St. Catherine's Cathedral, Alexandria

St. Catherine's Cathedral is the Roman Catholic cathedral for the Apostolic Vicariate of Alexandria in Egypt. It also functions as the church for the Franciscan monastery in Alexandria. The cathedral, built between 1847 and 1856, was designed by the Franciscan architect Serafino da Baceno in the Neo-Baroque style. The Franciscans have been in Alexandria since the seventeenth century, primarily to assist European pilgrims on their way to the Holy Land.

In the 1840s, they established new buildings for the convent and school. The basilica, which also serves as the cathedral for the Apostolic Vicariate established in 1839, was named after Saint Catherine of Alexandria. In 1927, the facade was redesigned in the Roman Baroque style by the Italian architect Mario Avena. The cathedral was the burial site for exiled Italian king Victor Emmanuel III from his death in 1947 until his remains were returned to Italy in 2017.