Immaculate Conception Cathedral

Located in the town of Victoria on Mahe Island in the Seychelles, the Immaculate Conception Cathedral is the Mother Church of the Catholic Diocese in the Seychelles. Built in 1874, the French Colonial-style building with its beautiful arched stained-glass windows was one of the first churches in the Seychelles. The building is a large, imposing structure with wide steps leading to the arched main entrance with its carved wooden doors. The interior resembles a typical Catholic church with tall pillars supporting the ornate roof, wood carvings decorating the walls, and long, polished wooden benches on either side of the aisle leading to the pulpit. The first and only Seychellois Bishop, Felix Paul, who died in 2001, is buried in a tomb built into the flooring of the cathedral. The tomb cannot be seen but its location is marked by a special plaque.