In the aftermath of the Russian Revolution in 1917, the Provisional Government was overthrown by the Bolsheviks and Russia eventually became part of the Soviet Union in 1922.

In the 21st century, after 58 years of non-religious use, the cathedral is once again the setting for regular liturgical celebrations in multiple languages—Russian, Polish, Korean, English, French, Spanish, Armenian and Latin—as well as benefit concerts featuring organ and church music.

[4] Bearing in mind the council's requirements, on 16 May 1895 the parish purchased a 10 hectare (22 acre) site on Malaya Gruzinskaya Street, then located on the city outskirts and surrounded by fields and vegetable gardens.

Today, the site is in the Central Administrative Okrug, outside of the Garden Ring road defining the old walled city, just beyond the Moscow Metro's Koltsevaya Line, and is surrounded by 20th century urban development.

The Moscow newspaper Russkoye Slovo wrote: In the filthy, wretched Malaya Gruzinskaya (Little Georgian) Street, forsaken by God and the city, there rose the wonderful, highly artistic solidity of the new Roman Catholic church, dedicated to the Immaculate Conception of Holy Virgin Mary.

Parts of the draft plan were abandoned: the floor was not constructed from marble as intended, but poured from plain concrete; outside there were no pinnacles on the façade.

[4][6] Observers that argue for an earlier construction date state that they were damaged during World War II and left dismantled for some time.

The research institute dealt primarily with project drawings for industrial facilities,[4] but also designed the Olympic cauldron used at Lenin Stadium for the 1980 Summer Games.

[7] During the 1960s and 1970s, the building's exterior became increasingly dilapidated;[4] among those concerned about the church's deterioration was Russian bard Vladimir Vysotsky, who lived in a house across the street.

[8] In the late 1970s the city considered renovating the building, possibly to use as a concert hall for organ recitals, or as a general cultural administration centre.

[4] The glasnost (openness) policy, introduced during the rule of Mikhail Gorbachev, played a major role in developing religious freedom in the Soviet Union.

[9] Consequently, in 1989, a group of Moscow Catholics and the cultural association "The Polish House" (Russian: Дом Польский), suggested that the building should again be used for religious purposes.

Following the city's assent, the first Mass at the site in 60 years was celebrated on the church stairs during the feast of the Immaculate Conception on 8 December 1990.

On 13 April 1991 Pope John Paul II promulgated the encyclical Providi quae establishing the "Apostolic administration for European Russia".

The vice-mayor of Moscow, Yury Luzhkov, signed a decree in favour of the Church on 1 February 1992 ordering the institute to vacate the property by 1994.

After these events, the Apostolic Administrator, Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz, wrote an open letter to the Russian President, Boris Yeltsin, on 9 March 1995, requesting his intervention: "It seems that persecution of the church was history.

"[4] As a result, Senior Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov, a Yeltsin appointee, signed a decision for the removal of the institute.

In a meeting with the Polish Ambassador, Stanisław Ciosek, on 15 March 1995, the acting mayor of Moscow, Alexander Musykantski, assured him that the return of the church would be complete by the end of the year.

Subsequently, the institute director asked the parish priest for a final extension of the removal date by two weeks—Mosspetspromproyekt vacated the building on 13 January 1996.

A commission was founded for the planned restoration, chaired by parish priest Josef Sanevski, Russian historian Stanislav Durnin, and Polish building contractor and politician Grzegorz Tuderek.

[4][5][11] The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception was ceremonially reopened on 12 December 1999 and was reconsecrated by the Cardinal Secretary of State of the Roman Curia, Angelo Sodano.

The wimperg is decorated with a relief ornament, in the centre of which is a golden monogram "VMIC" (Virgo Maria Immaculata Concepta, Latin for "Virgin Mary, conceived unblemished").

On the window on the opposite side of the left lateral arm is depicted Pope John Paul II, who is gazing at the Marian apparition of Fátima.

Plaster figures depicting the Virgin Mary and John the Baptist by architect Svyatoslav Sakhlebin are located on the left and the right sides (respectively) of the corbels.

It was donated by the American charity "Aid to the Church in Russia", headed by priest Marcel Guarnizo, who received consecration as a deacon during the renovation in 1997.

[13][15] The original 10-metre, 32' pipe stayed in Switzerland and was built into a new organ in the Münster Cathedral, which belongs to the Swiss Inventory of Cultural Property of National and Regional Significance.

This pipe, capable of reproducing a tone of 16.35 Hz, the bass note C0 four octaves below middle C, was recreated in Moscow and added to the cathedral's organ in 2009.

[14] The five church bells are located on the cathedral's roof behind a tripartite screen of lancet arches on the left side of the façade.

This decision was criticised by Patriarch Alexy II, who called it "unfriendly", as he believed the Catholic Church saw Russia as a field for missionary activity.

[5] In the fall of 2016, New York City-based Clarion Choir and its director, Stephen Fox, gave composer Maximilian Steinberg's long banned Christian choral concerto Passion Week its Russian premiere, with performances at Immaculate Conception Cathedral and at Rachmaninov Hall at the Conservatory in Moscow and in St.