Founded by the Society of Jesus at the turn of the 20th century, the church is dedicated to the Jesuit Saint John Berchmans.

The church is in Rhenan neo-Romanesque style and was consecrated on 9 July 1912 by the Bishop of Galle, Joseph van Reeth SJ.

The church is built in a Latin Cross plan with a central nave and two aisles, cut by a small transept.

The nave on three levels is divided in four spans by two times three monolithic barrelled columns of polished Labrador granite.

Suspended above the columns of the nave, six statues of saints of the Society of Jesus rest on pedestals with their carved initials.

The main altar, made from drawings by the architect Joseph Prémont, was surmounted by a tabernacle set up in a retable decorated with copper statuettes.