At the time of construction, this church, being built at
Hammersborg, near the graveyard of Our Saviour (), was located in the countryside outside the then city of Oslo. The work was funded by private donations and fundraising abroad, the most generous individual donor being
Queen Josephine, who was a Catholic herself. The first mass of the church was celebrated on 24 August 1856, but as there was no Roman Catholic bishop in the country, the church was not
consecrated until 8 August 1896. A
relic, reportedly a bone from St. Olav's arm, has been placed in a showcase since the 1860s. When the Roman Catholic Diocese of Oslo was established in 1953, St. Olav's was chosen as the episcopal seat and was elevated to the rank of cathedral. It is the second Catholic cathedral in Oslo. St. Olav's Cathedral was visited by Pope
John Paul II when he visited the
Scandinavian countries in 1989. == See also ==