 The church was the first of several that would occupy the lot where the present cathedral stands today.In 1819, MacEachern became Vicar General for most of the Maritimes as well as becoming a Bishop, and by the 1820s he was convinced that the only way to renew the area's religious beliefs was independence from the neglectful Archdiocese of Quebec.MacEachern finally got his wish when the Diocese of Charlottetown, comprising Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, and the Magdalen Islands was created in 1829, with MacEachern appointed as its first Bishop.