St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church, Liverpool

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St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church is a former church in Seel Street, Liverpool, England transformed into a restaurant and bar called Alma de Cuba -"the soul of Cuba".

St. Peter's was built in 1788 by Rev A.B. MacDonald of the Order of St Benedict; the area was mostly rural at the time. The church survived as a Catholic building until 1976, after which it served the local Polish community for a short time. For this reason it is affectionately known as 'the Polish Church'.

Up until its closure, St. Peter's was the oldest (surviving) Catholic Church in Liverpool. Some milestones in its history include:

7 September 1788 - opened

28 September 1788 - first baptisms performed, with the first entry: "Was baptised Mary, daughter of John and Mary Goosse; Sponsors, Paul Hewit and Margaret Yates";

1 April 1789 - perpetual lease granted by the City Corporation, "to Father McDonald and successors, of the site of St. Peter's Chapel, so long as a place of worship."

29 July 1814 - Death of Fr McDonald, O.S.B. On the Founder's Monument was inscribed: "In the vaults of this chapel are deposited the remains of the Rev. Archibald MacDonald, who departed this life on the 29th July, 1814, aged 78 years. The founder of this chapel, and for a period of 26 years its liberal, intelligent and revered pastor, to whose memory the Catholics of Liverpool erect this moument. - R.I.P."

1920 - Electric light installed for the first time in the Church and Church redecorated. Funds for this refurbishment were raised by sources including a Grand Bazaar held 14th-16th October 1920.

1976 - transferred to the Polish Community and for a short time was known as Our Lady of Czestochowa.

The parish closed in 1978. After a period of disuse, the building was then taken over by Urban Splash and is now the ultra stylish bar and restaurant Alma-De-Cuba.