Bishop Persico’s successor, the Right Reverend William H. Gross, C.Ss.R., was consecrated fifth Bishop of Savannah April 27, 1873.

Bishop Gross laid the cornerstone of the new Cathedral on November 19, 1873. The new structure was dedicated to “Our Lady of Perpetual Help,” a name the Cathedral retained for about 10 years. Bishop Gross was the last of the bishops of Savannah to use the old Cathedral on Drayton Street and the first to occupy the new one on Lafayette Square. On February 1, 1885, Pope Leo XIII promoted Bishop Gross to Archbishop of Oregon City (later Portland in Oregon). He died in Baltimore on November 14, 1898.