The cathedral was founded as a
collegiate church in 1047 by
Albert II of Namur. The first dean, Frederick of Lorraine, brother-in-law of Albert II, about 1050 secured from
Mainz Cathedral a portion of the head of
Saint Albanus, to whose patronage the collegiate church was dedicated. In 1057, Frederick became pope under the name of
Stephen IX. In 1209,
Pope Innocent III formally took the Church of St. Aubin under his protection. The church became a cathedral by virtue of the
papal bull of 12 May 1559 establishing the new bishoprics in the Low Countries, with the
Diocese of Namur created as a suffragan see of the
Archdiocese of Cambrai. A 13th-century tower at the west end of the church is the main remnant from before the rebuilding. In 1908, a Belgian architect,
Charles Ménart used the cathedral as inspiration for a church he designed,
St Aloysius Church, in
Glasgow. ==Interior==