A pale blue Catholic cathedral in the Salesian style, set on Don Bosco Square in the south of the city. The original 1936 wooden church burned down in 1936; the present building, finished in the 1940s, has a slim spire and stained-glass windows that catch the morning light. The grotto behind the church, modelled on Lourdes, is a popular spot for quiet prayer.
Shillong is one of the most heavily Christian cities in India — about half the population is Catholic or Presbyterian, a legacy of nineteenth-century Welsh and Italian missionaries — and the cathedral remains the spiritual centre. Sunday Mass is in Khasi as well as English.