In 1866, Fr. Augustine Plangue, the Pro-Vicar of the SMA based in Lyons France gave the mission in Porto-Novo another Superior in the person of Fr. Courdioux to replace Fr. Borghera. After his resignation was accepted in 1865, two years later in July 1867 Fr. Courdioux wrote to his Pro-Vicar Fr. Agustine Plangue that they had enough money to start in Lagos and also that got message after message to come, that mean while Protestants were filling theirs schools with children and large number of Catholic's were arriving from Brazil all the time, many of whom joined the Protestants or the Moslems. Fr. Bouche visited Lagos again in August 1868 after his first visit in June 1866, eh was being begged to stay In Lagos. He was impressed and scandalized the progress the Protestants were making the Anglicans Wesleyans and Baptists all with European missionaries and the Catholics were badly exposed by the propaganda of the Protestants.
When he returned to Porto-Novo Fr. Bouche spoke boldly and enthusiastically to the superior Fr. Courdious that they must not wait to start in a big way in lagos that they will get help from people including the Governor Henry Stanhope Freeman. He convinvced Fr. Courdious who then wrote to Fr. Plangue the Vicar to inform him that Fr. Bouche and Fr. Elias would go to Lagos and lodge in the French ( C.F.A.O ) while they were having a bamboo house erected. Also that he would send him the plan of the wooden house to be shipped from France. Fr. Bouche and his Spaniard Br. Elias arrived Lagos on the 11th October 1868 and built a bamboo house at Oke Ite Popo-Aguda where saint Mary is today. Thus, Catholic Mission in what was to become the capital city of Nigeria. This was the beginning of the Lagos Catholic Mission now known as the Holy Cross Catholic Mission Lagos.
The cathedral building was inaugurated in 1881 and built by stonemasons and architects Lazarus Borges da Silva and Francisco Nobre.[2] The church building, a French gothic style architecture was completed in 1934. It is notable as the headquarters of all Catholic Church parishes in Lagos.
