Historical Timeline

1835 First regular Protestant American services in Paris are held at the Hôtel Monaco, today’s Hôtel Matignon.

1859 Holy Trinity Church is formed, the first Episcopal parish outside the United States, with The Rev. William O. Lamson presiding. It meets in rented rooms.

1864 The first Holy Trinity Church is built and consecrated at 17, rue Bayard.

1872 After serving through the siege of Paris, The Rev. Lamson resigns. The Rev. John Brainerd Morgan becomes rector.

1881 Cornerstone laid for the new church on avenue de l’Alma, today’s avenue George V. Architect George Edmond Street draws the Gothic Revival plan.

1886 The new Holy Trinity Church is consecrated on Thanksgiving Day.

1887 A pipe organ built by Aristide Cavaillé-Coll, the master organ builder of his day, is installed.

1892 St. Luke’s Chapel for Students opens at Elizabeth Mills Reid’s new hostel for women students in Paris, the site of today’s Reid Hall.

1907 The altar triptych, painted by Edwin Austin Abbey, is installed in April. A spire 237 feet high is crowned and consecrated by The Rt. Rev. Thomas A. Jaggar in June.

1912 The Rev. Morgan dies suddenly. Bishop Jaggar fills in while a new rector is sought.

1913 The rectory and garden are constructed. The Rev. Samuel N. Watson arrives to become the new rector.

1914 With the onset of war, The Rev. Watson and vestrymen organize the American Relief Clearing House, funneling millions of dollars in American donations to French and Belgians in need.

1918 President Woodrow Wilson attends a service at Holy Trinity during the Paris Peace Conference.

1919 The Rev. Watson returns to the U.S.; The Rev. Frederick Beekman is named new rector.

1920 The Junior Guild is founded.

1921 Holy Trinity ends pew rentals and becomes a free church.

1923 Holy Trinity is consecrated as a cathedral and asks for a resident bishop. The Memorial Battle Cloister is dedicated as the first national monument to the American casualties of the Great War.

1924 A Russia Committee is established to raise money and help refugees from the Bolshevik revolution.

1930 First major restoration of the Cavaillé-Coll organ.

1941 With the German Occupation, The Very Rev. Beekman returns to the United States. Organist Lawrence Whipp stays to provide pastoral care and offer services.

1942 The German Wehrmacht requisitions the Cathedral as its place of worship. The Rev. Rudolf Damrath officiates until the liberation of Paris in August 1944.

1949 The Very Rev. Beekman retires; The Very Rev. Sturgis Lee Riddle becomes the new Dean and rector.

1953 Tower study turned into studio apartment; kitchen installed in basement of Church House.

1959 Youth Group founded. Active Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops meet at the Cathedral.

1969 Members of the American Peace Delegation for Vietnam war attend services; Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge gives the reading.

1973 Second restoration of Cavaillé-Coll organ.

1974 The Very Rev. Riddle retires; The Very Rev. Robert G. Oliver is named Dean.

1975 First woman elected to the vestry, Louise Saintonge.

1977 First annual parish meeting that includes parishioners is held.

1979 Africa Group founded and meets at the Cathedral.

1980 The Very Rev. Oliver retires; The Very Rev. James Leo becomes Dean.

1989 Celebrations of France’s bicentennial of the Revolution brings President George H.W. Bush to read at a Holy Trinity service.

1992 The Very Rev. Leo returns to the United States; The Very Rev. Ernest Hunt is named Dean.

1993 Third restoration of the Cavaillé-Coll organ.

1994 The Rt. Rev. Jeffrey Rowthorn is appointed the first full-time, salaried Bishop to the convocation of American churches in Europe. The DAR provides seven marble plaques to American casualties in WWII, on the 50th anniversary of the liberation of Paris, for display in the Memorial Battle Cloister.

1999 Lighting of the Cathedral spire and renovation of the façade.

2001 The Rt. Rev. Pierre Whalon becomes the first elected Bishop to the convocation.

2003 The Very Rev. Hunt retires; The Very Rev. Zachary Fleetwood becomes Dean.

2011 Major renovation project of Cathedral building begins. Two underground levels are created, as well as a kitchen, a narthex meeting room and offices for clergy staff on the ground floor, a total of 500 square meters of new space. The Very Rev. Fleetwood takes a position in Scotland; The Very Rev. Lucinda Laird becomes the first woman Dean of the Cathedral.

2019 The Right Rev. Mark D.W. Edington is consecrated Bishop-in-Charge of the convocation by Presiding Bishop Michael Curry.

2022 The Very Rev. Lucinda Laird departs.