"On Tuesday, March 12th, 1878, the Foundation Stone of St. Paul's Mission Church was laid by the Bishop of Cape Town, Archbishop William West Jones, on a site in Bree Street", however the Mission Congregation had already been active for over twenty years prior to this. The years following the construction of the church are commemorated with various consecrations & additions; the addition of seven stained glass windows in 1885, the consecration of the completed tower in 1899, the building of a larger chancel by Parish Priest after Archdeacon Lightfoot, in memory of the first Rector, in 1912, in 1926 the consecration of the New Aisle, Lady Chapel and Vestries by His Grace, Archbishop Carter, and when St. John's Church, Strand Street, was pulled down, the Stations of the Cross by van Hove found a new home at St Paul's. Two parochial institutions, Saint Monica’s maternity Home and Saint Paul’s School, also influenced the community greatly.
"Saint Paul the apostle (Hebrew: שאול התרסי Šaʾul HaTarsi, meaning "Saul of Tarsus", was, together with Saint Peter and James the Just, the most notable of early Christian missionaries. Unlike the Twelve Apostles, there is no indication that Paul, born in Tarsus, ever met Jesus before the latter's crucifixion. According to Acts, his conversion took place as he was traveling the road to Damascus, and experienced a vision of the resurrected Jesus. Paul asserts that he received the Gospel not from man, but by "the revelation of Jesus Christ".
