However, many of its inhabitants emigrated to the Nasrid Kingdom of Granada, and by 1272, two Catholic parishes, San Miguel and Santiago, were established in the northern part of the arrabal, later called Arrixaca Vieja.

In 1579, they moved permanently inside the walls near the hermitage, and in 1580, they were given the adjacent chapel of Murcia's patron saint, the Virgin of the Arrixaca, leading to the construction of the original convent in that location.

[4] In 1630, Pedro Molina, Marquis of Corvera, rebuilt the Chapel of the Virgin of the Arrixaca, the oldest surviving part of the church.

By the mid-18th century, during Murcia's Golden Age, construction of a new convent, including the present church, began in 1748 and was completed in 1762 with support from Bishop Diego de Rojas y Contreras.

The façade, completed in 1762, follows a palace-style design and includes two repurposed Roman marble columns believed to originate from ruins in Monteagudo.