In 1888 the site was acquired by the German Catholic Society for Palestine (Palästina-Verein der Katholiken Deutschlands) which was associated with the Archdiocese of Cologne.

The bright limestone blocks were brought from a quarry near Taybeh (between Jericho and Ramallah), the red bricks from Italy and the roof timbering from Germany.

[6] Hebrew graffiti, with the words "false idols will be smashed", taken from the Jewish prayer Aleinu, was sprayed on the walls of the adjacent dormitory.

[9] "Whatever repairs are not covered by insurance must be paid for by the Israeli government", said Wadie Abunassar, media spokesman for the Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land.

"[10] In late July 2015, four Israeli Jews age 18 to 24 and an unnamed minor were arrested by the Israel police and indicted for the arson.

This flower, which is not indigenous to the area, suggests the artist's use of a Nilotic landscape popular in Roman and Early Byzantine art.

Also preserved in the modern church are the sill of the left entrance to the atrium, basalt paving stones, and part of the apse frieze.