This was the first building in Baltimore—and, in fact, the country—influenced by Gothic architecture, and the city’s first work by noted French-born architect Maximilian Godefroy. It was erected as the chapel for the nation’s first seminary, established in 1791 by French priests from St. Sulpice in Paris, invited here by Bishop John Carroll. Godefroy had only recently immigrated to take a position as professor of civil and military architecture and fine arts at the seminary. The chapel lacks some of the most exuberant elements associated with Gothic Revival. However, it was the first in the country to link Gothic design to ecclesiastical architecture, becoming a model for similar Baltimore churches such as Zion Lutheran (1807–1808; 400 E. Lexington Street). The interior consists of a nave flanked by side aisles, transepts, a semicircular apse, and a plaster ceiling simulating ribbed vaulting. In 1971, the chapel was designated a National Historic Landmark. It sits within St. Mary’s Park behind the Mother Seton House.