Like Armagh there are two Cathedrals in Belfast, St Anne's Church of Ireland on Donegal Street and St Peter's Roman Catholic on the Falls Road. The Dean of St Anne's has since 1976 stood outside the Cathedral in the run up to Christmas to raise money for charity. Dressed in his black cassock he and his successors have earned the nickname Black Santa.

The foundation stone of St Peter's was laid in 1860 and was dedicated in 1866. The land was gifted by bakery owner Barney Hughes and the triple stained glass window in the south aisle is dedicated to his wife from donations from his three sons. His daughter had died a few months before and the window and altar in the north aisle are dedicated to her. The church was the first Catholic church in the city to be built in the gothic style; its distinctive twin spires were added in 1885.

St Anne's Cathedral is built on the site of St Anne's Church, Belfast's first Church of Ireland Parish in 1776. The foundation stone for the cathedral was laid in 1899 with the existing church demolished in 1903 to make way for the new cathedral. The