Built in the 15th century, the church was patronised by the nobility and wealthy citizens of Brussels, and is characterised by its late Brabantine Gothic exterior and rich interior decoration including two Baroque chapels.

[1] The church is located along the Rue de la Régence/Regentschapsstraat, halfway between the Place Royale/Koningsplein and the Palace of Justice, not far for the Royal Museums of Fine Arts and across the street from the Square du Petit Sablon/Kleine Zavelsquare.

[2][3] The origin of the church goes back to the early 13th century when Henry I, Duke of Brabant, recognised the Noble Serment of Crossbowmen as a guild and granted them certain privileges, including the right to use a plot at the Sablon/Zavel (a piece of sandy clay land outside the city walls) as an exercise ground.

At the beginning of the French occupation in 1795, the church was saved from the anti-religious zeal of the occupiers and their supporters thanks to the priest swearing allegiance to the Republic.

Jules-Jacques van Ysendijck was a disciple of Eugène Viollet-le-Duc and led the work in accordance with the latter's principle of unity of style.

The columns of the nave hold twelve statues of apostles, dating from the mid-17th century, which were sculpted by some of the leading Baroque sculptors of that time.

[9][10] The stained glass windows are relatively recent and largely the work of the artists Samuel Coucke [nl], Louis-Charles Crespin [fr] and Jacques Colpaert.

The Baroque pulpit is a work of Marc de Vos, executed in 1697 for the Temple of the Augustinians in Brussels, which no longer exists.

The base on which the pulpit rests is formed by four sculptures symbolising the Four Evangelists: the angel (Matthew), the eagle (John), the lion (Mark) and the ox (Luke).

The church is best known for its two magnificent Baroque chapels, which the Thurn und Taxis family had built on both sides of the choir in the second half of the 17th century.

Directly opposite the church, there is a memorial plaque on the location where the Thurn und Taxis family had their residence, and as imperial postmasters, founded the first international postal service in 1516.