Abstract: The invention is directed to a catheter suitable for medical procedures such as cardiac ablation. The catheter includes a front-loaded catheter tip with an electrically active element. The catheter can include an elongate catheter shaft assembly having an inner shaft member with a distal end and a proximal end, and an outer shaft member with a distal end, a proximal end, and a lumen between the distal end and the proximal end. The inner shaft member can be inserted into the lumen of the outer shaft member along a longitudinal direction. The inner shaft member can include, at the distal end, a catheter tip member having a lateral dimension that is larger than a lateral dimension of the lumen of the outer shaft member.